Comprehensive Collaboration in Fetal Cardiac Care: A Multidisciplinary Approach

This review paper highlights recent advances in perinatal care of infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) including novel approaches to fetal diagnosis and delivery room management strategies. It also recommends opportunities to improve access to care, highlights areas for collaboration, and discusses future directions in fetal cardiac research.

Recent research has driven rapid advances in fetal cardiac diagnosis, management, and intervention. In the hands of experienced providers, first trimester screening and early fetal echocardiography between 12–16 weeks' gestation is feasible to screen for CHD in high-risk populations or when a cardiac anomaly is suspected. Multidisciplinary perinatal care models can improve vital components of CHD care including delivery location and timing. Additionally, studies around perinatal counseling have introduced new techniques to promote communication and parental understanding. While access to care remains a barrier to timely diagnosis, a focus on screening for socioeconomic factors, providing psychosocial support, and cultivating collaboration can mitigate these effects.

Rapid advancements in fetal cardiac research, diagnosis, maternal-fetal perinatal care, and fetal interventions have impacted pregnancy and postnatal outcomes for maternal-infant dyads with CHD. Future progress will require collaborative multidisciplinary cooperation to promote earlier CHD diagnosis, optimize perinatal outcomes, and ensure accessible fetal cardiac care.