You just got great news—you’re pregnant! But just as quickly as you were elated, you’re now concerned. As a baby, you had a congenital heart defect. Will your baby have the same problem?

University of Iowa Children's Hospital pediatric cardiology specialty services can provide the answer. A fetal echocardiogram lets you and your doctor know everything is OK—or if something needs attention.

Reasons to have a fetal echo scan include family history of congenital heart disease, abnormal obstetric scan, chromosomal abnormalities, extra-cardiac abnormalities, abnormal heart rhythm, abnormal fetal growth, or evidence of fetal distress.

Pediatric and fetal echocardiography are noninvasive, painless diagnostic procedures that use ultrasound waves to study the internal structure, motion, and blood flow of the heart.

The University of Iowa Children's Hospital echo lab is one of two Midwest facilities to receive national accreditation from the Inter-societal Commission for Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories.

“Our lab wouldn’t have received this national distinction if it weren’t for the expertise of our medical staff and sonographers that sets us apart from many facilities in the Midwest,” says Michelle Disterhoft, technical director and supervisor of the University of Iowa Children's Hospital Pediatric Echocardiography Lab.

Call 319-356-3537 or 319-356-2229 for an appointment.