Alma's Profile

I am the mother of five young children, ages 8 and under. I have always had a difficult time during pregnancy, a lot of breathlessness and fatigue. But that was considered normal for pregnancy. The breathlessness during pregnancy got worse every time, until this last pregnancy I was unable to even lay down flat without running out of breath or waking up gasping for air. I finally went to the hospital, where they told me "It's just how the baby's lying." I asked them to do an echo, and they found a severe mitral regurgitation. They took the baby by emergency Csection at 37 weeks. She is a beautiful, healthy baby, and is five months old now. In September, I was sent for the pre-surgery tests, but the regurgitation only showed up as moderate, not severe. The surgery was cancelled, and my cardiologist is now sending me to another surgeon for a second opinion.