Fetal Echocardiography in Delhi
A dedicated scan of the baby's heart, for pregnancies at raised risk of congenital heart disease.
What fetal echocardiography involves
Congenital heart disease is the commonest major birth defect, affecting roughly eight in a thousand babies, and it is the anomaly most often missed on a routine scan. A fetal echocardiogram examines the cardiac chambers, valves, outflow tracts, arches and rhythm in far greater detail than the standard four-chamber view.
Detecting a significant cardiac anomaly before birth changes outcomes measurably. It allows delivery to be planned at a centre with paediatric cardiac support, rather than a baby collapsing at home in the first week of life.
Who this is for
- Diabetes before pregnancy, or poorly controlled gestational diabetes
- Previous child or a parent with congenital heart disease
- Raised nuchal translucency, or any chromosomal abnormality
- A suspicious cardiac view on the anomaly scan, or an irregular fetal heart rhythm
Not everything on this list means you need this treatment. The workup comes first, and the recommendation follows from what it shows — not from what was booked before you arrived.
Step by step
Timing
Usually 20–24 weeks, though major lesions can often be seen from 16 weeks in high-risk cases.
Segmental analysis
Situs, venous return, atria, ventricles, valves, outflow tracts, arches and rhythm, examined in sequence.
Colour and pulsed Doppler
Flow direction and velocity across each valve and vessel.
Planning
Where an anomaly is found, paediatric cardiology involvement and a delivery plan are arranged before birth.
Your results, in writing
Whatever the outcome of fetal echocardiography, you leave each stage with the findings written down — what was done, what was found, what it means, and what the options are from here. Reports are issued the same day wherever the laboratory allows it.
Case study: A heart lesion found because diabetes was the trigger
35, Lajpat Nagar · type 1 diabetes · HbA1c 8.4% at booking
What she came in with
A planned pregnancy but with suboptimal glycaemic control in the first trimester, which roughly triples the risk of congenital heart disease.
What the workup showed
The 20-week anomaly scan reported a normal four-chamber view. A dedicated fetal echocardiogram at 22 weeks, arranged because of the diabetes, showed transposition of the great arteries — a lesion that leaves a normal four-chamber view and is missed unless the outflow tracts are specifically examined.
What we did
Immediate paediatric cardiology involvement, delivery planned at 38 weeks at a centre with paediatric cardiac surgery on site, and the neonatal team briefed with prostaglandin ready from the moment of birth.
Outcome
Delivered as planned, prostaglandin started immediately, and an arterial switch operation performed at eight days of age. The child is doing well.
The point of this case
Transposition is invariably fatal without prompt intervention, and a baby born with it at a hospital that does not know collapses at home in the first week. A normal four-chamber view does not exclude it.
Illustrative case. This is a composite of presentations commonly seen in this practice, written for explanation — it is not the record of an identifiable patient, and no individual's details are used. Outcomes vary, and nothing here is a prediction of what will happen in your case.
What is different about having this done here
Referral arranged the same week where the indication is urgent
Joint working with paediatric cardiology for anything significant
Delivery planned at a unit with neonatal cardiac support when needed
Clear explanation of what was and was not excluded
Treated by the consultant, not by a rotating team
Dr. Tiwari performs the scans, the procedure and the follow-up herself, and looks after any pregnancy that results. Over a long treatment course that continuity is the difference between being known and being processed.
- MBBS, MS (Obstetrics & Gynaecology), FNB (Reproductive Medicine)
- Over ten years in reproductive medicine and gynaecological surgery
- Consultations and scans at Mother's Hope, Katwaria Sarai; theatre work at SHE Delhi Hospital, Greater Kailash II
- Itemised costs given in writing before anything begins
Areas we see patients from
Both locations are in South Delhi. Patients travelling from further out have appointments grouped to cut down the number of trips.
Questions about fetal echocardiography
Can fetal echo detect every heart defect?
No. It detects most major structural lesions, but small ventricular septal defects, mild valve abnormalities and coarctation of the aorta can all be missed. Some conditions only declare themselves after birth when the circulation changes.
Do I need this if my anomaly scan was normal?
Only if you have a risk factor. For a low-risk pregnancy with a good four-chamber and outflow tract view, a dedicated fetal echo adds little.
Talk it through before you commit
Consultations run for a full hour. Bring any previous reports — they are reviewed properly, not repeated.