Educating the Mother is Important, Here's How to Reduce the Risk of Congenital Heart Disease

JAKARTA - Congenital heart disease is still a health challenge whose prevention is difficult to do and takes a long process to handle. This disease is a structural heart disorder that has occurred since the baby is still in the womb.

Although prevention is directly difficult to do, there are several ways to reduce the risk of congenital heart disease. Chairman of the Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease Working Group, dr. Oktavia Lilyasari, Sp.JP(K), said that the pregnancy period is an important time to reduce the risk of PJB.

Education of the mother is very important. This is because some of the risk factors for maternal heart disease are related to pregnancy conditions.

"If prevention, to this day, there is no definitive prevention. But, because we know there are risk factors, then what we can do is educate parents," said Dr. Oktavia, when met in the Kemanggisan area, written Friday, February 13, 2025.

One of the important educations given is related to the consumption of drugs during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. The drugs in question are not only hard drugs, but also cough medicine, flu medicine, or other over-the-counter drugs.

"When pregnant, especially young pregnant women, the first three months, if possible, do not take medicine carelessly (drug consumption must consult a doctor)," he said.

In addition, the mother must also maintain good health, especially in the first three months of pregnancy. This is because during this period the fetus' vital organs are formed, including the heart.

It is recommended that mothers avoid various factors that can interfere with the process of organ formation, such as the consumption of drugs without the advice of a doctor, exposure to harmful substances, to unhealthy habits.

The bad influence of the surrounding environment should also be avoided. Such as cigarette smoke from the husband or anyone who smokes in the mother's surroundings. Exposure to harmful substances from cigarettes can affect fetal development.

Doctor Oktavia also reminded that pregnancy control with a doctor should be done regularly. This is important to ensure that the condition of the fetus and the mother are really healthy.

Not only that, parents also need to know that genetic factors play a role in the occurrence of congenital heart disease. If there is a history of congenital heart disease in the family, then the child can be at risk even though it is relatively small.

"If there is a congenital heart disease in the family, then the risk of having congenital heart disease can be around 1-3 percent will be in his child," he explained.

Although it cannot be completely prevented, by knowing these genetic factors, parents and doctors can be more vigilant from the beginning of pregnancy for handling the possibility of congenital heart disease in infants.