Congenital heart disease prevention

; Associate Editor-In-Chief: Keri Shafer, M.D. [mailto:kshafer@bidmc.harvard.edu], Atif Mohammad, M.D., Priyamvada Singh, M.B.B.S.[mailto:psingh@perfuse.org]

Overview
Prevention is an integral element for expectant mothers. The following details specific behaviors an expectant mother can take to reduce the risk for a congenital heart defect.

Prevention

 * No medication should be taken in pregnancy without prior physician consultation.
 * Appropriate rediological equipment and techniques for reducing gonadal and fetal radiation exposure.
 * Prenatal screening - Amniocentesis, Chorionic villous sampling
 * Immunization of children with rubella vaccine
 * Fetal echocardiography