It is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week! Both of my girls have heart defects and so do I. I told our story a good few years ago....Part one and Part two. I am sharing some posts about Congenital Heart Defect's (CHD's).
In the past I have blogged about Tiny Tickers and I will continue to as they are a charity that I believe in....
Tiny Tickers are an independent, national charity. They are working to improve the way that congenital heart disease/defects are detected, diagnosed and managed.
They work with hospitals providing training to health professionals to improve screening at the routine 20 week ultrasound scan. So far they have trained hundreds of health professionals in over 70 hospitals across the UK.
Tiny Tickers want to increase early detection rates of cardiac conditions....They train sonographers to spot defects during routine pregnancy scans, support families with a diagnosis, campaign to improve service standards and generally raise awareness!
Diagnosis of heart disease before birth gives time to plan effectively for a safer birth and to prepare for any treatments that might be necessary after a baby is delivered. In some cases interventions can even be carried out before a baby is born and our ability to do this is likely to increase as our knowledge increases.
For parents an early diagnosis provides the time to adjust to this difficult time. Knowing early on in the pregnancy what problems lie ahead enables parents to make considered, informed decisions about their pregnancy, to come to terms with the effect of heart disease on their child and to cope better once the baby arrives.
Congenital heart disease is difficult to detect after birth, and studies show that about half of babies with heart disease are sent home without a diagnosis and that 15% have life-threatening disease and this may result in collapse and possible brain damage. It is therefore vital that heart problems are detected before birth.
Babies with undetected heart defects will often fall into the early stages of heart failure significantly impacting their long term quality of life and associated risks of heart failure including brain damage.
Both of my girls were discharged from hospital when they were babies with heart problems....No one knew, including me. It was only down to a freak accident of Ellie jamming her fingers in a door that their conditions were found.....In 2009 both of my girls had open heart, life saving surgery. Without the surgery they would have died in their teenage years.....
You can also donate any amount up to £10 using your mobile phone. Simply text “TINY11 £amount” to 70070 and Tiny Tickers will receive 100% of your donation plus Gift Aid.
£750 - Provides a Pulse Oximetry testing kit for use in a maternity unit to help detect heart conditions in newborn babies before they leave hospital.
£75 - Trains one sonographer to be better able to detect heart conditions during pregnancy scan, giving that baby’s heart the best chance of beating their condition.
£25 - Sends one GP surgery a pack of materials with information about the signs of heart failure in babies and the importance of the 20-week scan for detecting heart conditions.
£10 - Provides one family with materials and advice about facing a diagnosis of CHD and what to expect when their baby has open heart surgery.
£5 - Sends an expectant parent all the information they need to protect their baby’s heart, including what to expect from their 20 week scan and the signs of heart failure in a newborn baby.
Tiny Tickers works to ensure that every baby born with a heart defect has an equal chance to fight their condition, and lead a healthy and normal life. With your support, they can achieve great things.....
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