Transposition of the great vessels prevention
Prevention
General
The development of a fetal heart starts during the first trimester of pregnancy. Thus, many a times the fetal heart has already gone through the development when the female became aware of being pregnant. Some steps taken before and during pregnancy that can help in preventing the congenital heart disease are as follow-
- Ensuring that the female is immunized to Rubella before getting pregnant.
- Folate supplementation (400micrograms/day. All females planning for pregnancy should start taking folate on daily basis as the birth defects occur most commonly during first trimester of pregnancy even befor th efemale is aware that she is pregnant.
- Avoid intravenous drug abuse (street drugs)
- Avoid viral infections. Ensure proper and complete treatment of upper respiratory tract infections.
- Avoid alcohol
- Prescription medications, such as lithium, anti-acne drugs (retinoic acid) and anti-epileptic therapy
- X-rays
- Strong chemicals (solvents)
Specific
- Women with some diseases like diabetes, seizures etc should consult their physicians before and during pregnancy for special management strategies for these diseases to prevent the occurrence of congenital heart diseases. Females with phenylketonuria may need to follow a special phenylketoneuric diet before pregnancy and during the first trimester.
- Genetic counselling can be offered to parents who have previous history of a child with birth defect or with family history.