What is fetal CM: diagnosis, causes

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Pregnancy is a wonderful period in the life of every woman - the anxious expectation of the birth of a new person. Every minute, the mother listens attentively to her child, rejoices in his every movement, responsibly passes all the tests and patiently waits for the results. And any woman wants to hear that her child is absolutely he althy. But, unfortunately, not every parent hears this phrase.

In medical practice, there are a variety of types of fetal pathologies that are installed in different trimesters of pregnancy and pose a serious question to parents whether to leave the child or not. Developmental problems can be of two types: acquired and congenital.

About the varieties of pathologies

As mentioned earlier, there are pathologies:

• Congenital.
• Purchased.

Deviations can be caused by both genetic and external factors. Congenital ones appear even at the stage of conception, and with the proper medical qualifications of the doctor, they are detected at the earliest possible date. But acquired ones can appear at any time during the development of the fetus, they are diagnosed at any stage of pregnancy.

Congenital pathologies and their varieties

All VLOOKUPfetus associated with genetics, doctors call trisomies. They appear in the first stages of intrauterine development and mean deviations from the number of chromosomes in a child. These pathologies are:

• Patau Syndrome. With this diagnosis, there is a problem with chromosome 13. This syndrome is manifested by a variety of malformations, multi-fingering, deafness, idiocy and problems with the reproductive system. Unfortunately, children with this diagnosis have little chance of surviving to the age of one.
• Down Syndrome is a notorious diagnosis that has been causing a strong resonance in society for many years. Children with this syndrome have a specific appearance, suffer from dementia and growth retardation. Abnormalities occur with chromosome 21.
• Edward's syndrome in most cases ends in death, only 10% of newborns survive to a year. Due to the pathology of the 18th chromosome, children are born with noticeable external abnormalities: small palpebral fissures, deformed ear shells, miniature mouths.

Syndromes that are caused by problems with the sex chromosomes fall into a separate category. They include:

• Klinefelter's syndrome - typical for boys and is expressed by mental retardation, infertility, sexual infantilism and lack of body hair.
• Shereshevsky-Turner syndrome affects girls. There is short stature, disorders of the somatic system, as well as infertility and other disorders of the reproductive system.
• Polysomies on the X- and Y-chromosomes are expressed by a slight decrease in intelligence, the development of psychoses andschizophrenia.

Sometimes doctors diagnose such a disorder as polyploidy. Such violations promise a fatal outcome for the fetus.

If the cause of fetal pathology is in gene mutations, then it can no longer be cured or corrected. Being born, children are simply obliged to live with them, and parents, as a rule, sacrifice a lot to provide them with a decent existence. Of course, there are great examples of people who, even with a diagnosis of Down syndrome, became famous all over the world for their talent. However, you need to understand that these are rather happy exceptions than common cases.

If we talk about acquired CDs

It also happens that fetal malformations are diagnosed in a genetically he althy child. The reason is that deviations can develop under the influence of a wide variety of external factors. Most often, these are diseases suffered by the mother during the period of bearing a child, a harmful environmental situation, or an unhe althy lifestyle of parents. Such acquired pathologies can “hit” absolutely any system in the fetal body.

The most popular disorders include the following pathologies:

• Defect of the heart.
• Problems directly with the internal organs (their deformation or even partial or complete absence. For example, fetal kidney malformations sometimes occur. Depending on the severity of the deviation, it is possible to solve the situation with the help of modern medical advances. But fetal malformations of the lungs are often ends with the death of the baby), as well as disorders with limbs and other partsbody. Often in such situations, the brain suffers.
• Often, pathologies affect the facial skeleton, forming anatomical deformations of its structure.
• Cerebral hypo- and hyperexcitability are expressed in the activity of the baby, in muscle tone and in his behavior. Such pathologies are perfectly treated, thanks to modern medicine.

VLOOKUP for no specific reason

Acquired abnormalities can also include those pathologies, the causes of which remain a mystery to doctors:

• Multiple pregnancy (the most famous cases are the birth of Siamese twins).
• Deviations of the placenta (hyper- and hypoplasia associated with its weight).
• High or low intrauterine fluid.
• Umbilical cord pathologies (various cases from variations in length to problems with knots and attachments. There is also a thrombosis or cyst - all of which can lead to the death of a child).

Any of these pathologies requires a responsible approach to monitoring the fetus. So that parents never hear the terrible conclusion of a doctor, during the period of the alleged conception and bearing of a future family member, all negative factors that can cause pathology should be excluded from their lives to the maximum.

What are the causes of fetal CM?

To protect your unborn child from deviations, you must first figure out what can cause developmental disorders in the baby. Prevention of fetal CM includes the mandatory exclusion of all possiblefactors that provoke genetic or acquired changes.

• Most often the cause of anomalies are deviations that are inherited. If such cases were recorded in the family history of the disease, then during the planning of pregnancy, it is imperative to consult a doctor and take tests.
• Harmful environmental conditions are a common cause of gene and acquired mutations.
• During pregnancy, expectant mothers should take care of themselves, because past viral and bacterial diseases can be the starting point for the development of deviations.
• Often violations are caused by wrong way of life, smoking, alcoholism, etc.

The Importance of Prenatal Diagnosis

Many people learn what fetal CM is during pregnancy only after prenatal diagnosis. Such a measure is necessary for bearing a he althy baby. So why is this inspection important and how is it done?

When fetal CM is diagnosed, the first step is pathology screening - a set of procedures that every expectant mother undergoes for a period of 12, 20 and 30 weeks. In other words, it is an ultrasound examination. Sad statistics suggests that many will find out what fetal CM is on ultrasound. An important stage of the check is extensive blood tests.

Who is at risk?

Specialists identify a special group of women who have a high percentage of the risk of giving birth to an unhe althy child. At the first examination, they take blood for analysis andprescribe a deep diagnosis for the possible presence of pathologies. Most often, expectant mothers hear the diagnosis of fetal CM who:

• Over 35.
• Receiving serious medical treatment during pregnancy.
• Came under radiation exposure.
• Have already experienced pregnancy with a child with abnormalities or if they have a relative with genetic abnormalities.
• History of miscarriages, miscarriages or stillbirths.

About predictions

With absolute accuracy, without the necessary medical examinations, no competent doctor can make a diagnosis. Even after receiving the conclusion, the specialist gives only recommendations, and the decision remains with the parents. In case of anomalies that will inevitably lead to the death of the child (and in some cases, danger to the life of the mother), an abortion is offered. If the case is limited to only subtle external anomalies, then it will be quite possible to get by with plastic surgery in the future. Diagnoses are not generalizable and are entirely individual.

You can do the right thing only after rational deliberation, weighing all the pros and cons on the scales.

Conclusion

With minor anomalies and mutations with which a child can live a full life, timely medical care and modern scientific achievements work wonders. In no case should you lose heart and you should always hope for the best, relying entirely on the professional opinion of a doctor.