Pediatric Cardiologist

I wish I had a more clear picture of what is going on with our baby girl, but I still feel like I don't quite understand anything.  Last night I got about three hours of sleep before I woke up to go to the restroom.  I then refused to go back to sleep until I could feel the baby move.   Two hours later and with dawn breaking, I finally felt a couple of kicks in a row and went back to sleep.  Feeling movement has become an obsession now that I know there is something wrong with the baby.  I felt as if I was in a coma getting ready for our cardiology appointment this morning.  I don't even feel like I am alive.  The last week has been a very trying time.

"I need to call my collegue and discuss a few things. I will be right back."  This is the response we received from the pediatric cardiologist after an hour long echocardiogram.  I just sat back on the examine table and cried.  We were told at the beginning of the appointment that most likely the baby had premature atrial contractions (PAC's) which will most likely resolve on its own.  It is easy to detect and the cardiologist would have been able to tell right away.  So, I can't even explain the emotion I felt when she had to leave the room to get a second opinion.  Wasn't this supposed to be a simple diagnosis?

The conclusion...they think the baby MAY have PAC's, but there were other things going on that were characteristic of a secondary heart block.  So what is a heart block?  Well, there can be varying degrees of heart blocks that are usually found in a fetus when a mother suffers from an autoimmune disease such as lupus or Sjorgen's disease.  An individual with a third degree heart block will probably need a pacemaker for life and if found in a fetus, there is a 15% mortality rate.  Third degree heart blocks are quite serious and need immediate attention.  Sometimes second degree heart blocks can turn into a third degree heart block.  Heart blocks are very RARE.  However, since heart blocks in a fetus are usually caused by an issue with the mother, I wonder if it is safer to take the baby earlier so as not to make the condition worse?  Since the cardiologist and my doctor are not 100% sure of the issue, I did not get a real answer on this.  To me it seems ridiculous that I would wait until 40 weeks to deliver.  However, the hospital I am delivering at will only deliver before 39 weeks if the PAC or heart block turns into tachyardia (very fast heart rhythm).  The thought is that if it isn't a heart block, then the heart may still develop better in utero.  The baby will have an EKG right after birth and will be monitored.

So, the plan....NST's tomorrow, Monday, Thursday, and the following Monday again before my scheduled c-section on Wednesday.  Also, labs will be drawn on Monday to test for autoimmune disorders.  I have already been tested for the lupus anticoagulant in my recurrent loss panel and to my surprise I actually tested out of range for one of the components.  I never knew this until today while going through the labwork. Therefore, I will be tested again with a different test.  The modified plan....if my NST sounds terrible on Monday, then they will try to bump my c-section to Thursday, July 5th.  It will be performed by someone else in the practice since my OB is on vacation.  I trust my OB fully, so having someone else do my c-section does scare me.  But if we feel it needs to be done, then we will do it next week.

I don't know what to think about all of this and I apologize for this being so long.  All I can do is hope and pray that this is just PAC's and it will go away shortly after birth.  No big deal.  All the worry was for nothing.  God I pray that this is the case.  Until then, the latest our baby girl will be here is in 12 days.  I just have to trust that everything will be okay until then.