Key result
Pregnancy in women with Fontan circulation is associated with high rates of miscarriage, prematurity, small-for-gestational-age babies, and maternal cardiac complications such as atrial arrhythmias.
Why the study?
What are the maternal and fetal risks associated with pregnancy in women with Fontan circulation?
What are the maternal and fetal risks associated with pregnancy in women with Fontan circulation?
Pregnancy in women with Fontan circulation carries significant maternal and fetal risks, including high rates of miscarriage, prematurity, and maternal arrhythmias, highlighting the critical need for informed preconception counseling.
Supports preconception counseling in Fontan patients; leaves open precise risk estimates from prospective registries.
This article summarizes and critiques four recent publications looking at preconception counseling, pregnancy outcomes, and cardiac complications in women with history of Fontan circulation. The Fontan procedure is a palliative strategy for single-ventricle type congenital heart disease and involves passive flow of venous return into the pulmonary circulation, bypassing the ventricles. Pregnancy in these patients is not without risk and preconception counseling and contraception practices vary widely. High rates of miscarriage, prematurity, and small-for-gestational-age babies are reported. Cardiac complications include mainly arrhythmias. Whether long-term prognosis in these patients is affected by pregnancy is not yet known.
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Mehta et al. (2016) conducted a review in Fontan circulation. Pregnancy was evaluated on Pregnancy outcomes and cardiac complications. Pregnancy in women with Fontan circulation is associated with high rates of miscarriage, prematurity, small-for-gestational-age babies, and maternal cardiac complications such as atrial arrhythmias.
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