Neonatal doctors at the National Hospital for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Hanoi welcomed back Dr David Schapira the co course leader for their UK Level 1 Postgraduate Neonatal Training Course. This is week 28 of a 40 UK specialist course, the focus is Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs).
These are present at birth and can affect the structure of a baby’s heart and the way it works. CHDs can vary from mild (such as a small hole in the heart) to severe (such as missing or poorly formed parts of the heart). About 1 in 4 babies born with a heart defect has a critical CHD that is likely to need surgery or other procedures in the first year of life. The doctors are learning to use and interpret echocardiogram (ultrasound test) to view the baby’s heart.