A first-time mom puts her baby girl’s heart in the hands of the Rady Children’s CTICU
Ana Castaneda was 24 weeks into her first pregnancy when a routine sonogram turned her world upside down. “I was happy, healthy and hopeful, but this news was a complete whirlwind,” Ana recalls. “At the time, I had no suspicion anything was wrong. I was happy, and everyone said I had that pregnancy glow. Of course, I was tired because I was growing a little human, but it was my first pregnancy, so I thought everything was good,” she continues. “When my doctor saw something abnormal on my exam and sent me for another sonogram, they told me her heart and cardiac anatomy weren’t developing correctly. It was a huge blow.” malformations that require immediate surgery upon birth. Babies with POC also may not survive longer than a few days. Ana’s baby also had a coarctation of the heart Ana learned that her unborn daughter had Pentalogy of Cantrell (POC), a group of five congenital defects of the heart, pericardium, diaphragm, sternum and abdominal wall. A complex condition with a survival rate and prognosis that vary greatly depending on its severity, POC can present with a multitude of anatomical
SPRING 2024 HEALTHY KIDS MAGAZINE 15
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