March 11, 2009

I just got back from visiting our little butterfly, Ava. She looked beautiful as usual. :) The doctor had an update for me that I thought I'd share with you all.. Ava has a condition called PDA. This stands for Patent Ductus Arteriosus. I'm sure you are all wonderng what this means so I thought I'd better look it up for you guys. PDA is a heart problem that occurs soon after birth in some babies. In PDA, there is an abnormal circulation of blood between two of the major arteries near the heart. Before birth, the major arteries- the aorta and the pulmonary artery are normally connected by a blood vessel called the Ductus Arteriosus, which is an essential part of the fetal circulation. After birth, the vessel is suppose to close within a few days as a part of the normal changes occuring in the baby's circulation. In some babies, however, the Ductus Arteriosus remains open (patent). (Ava's remained open) This opening allows blood to flow directly from the Aorta into the Pulmonary Artery which can be a strain on the heart and increase the blood pressure in the lung arteries. They will be treating this condition with a medicine called Indomethacin. During this time period, they will NOT be feeding her. Assuming the medications work, they will be feeding her within a couple days. They were feeding her 9ML every 3 hours as of yesterday, but when they start feeding her again they will start it off slowly feeding her approximately 4ML every 3 hours. Dr. Edwards said that this was very common with preemies, and he expects everything to go smoothly. I will let you know if I hear anythig else. Keep on praying for our little booger :)