University of Maryland School of Medicine student Claire Wegner is investigating how congenital heart disease is diagnosed — and how earlier detection could save newborn lives.

As a participant in the Program for Research Initiated by Students and Mentors (PRISM), Wegner spent her summer in the Department of Pediatric Cardiology under the mentorship of Alicia Heather Chaves, MD, MAS, where she analyzed data from mothers and infants affected by congenital heart disease.

Early diagnosis is critical, Wegner stressed, saying, “It has been shown that infants who are diagnosed prenatally, that they have much better outcomes than those who are diagnosed postnatally.”

That prenatal diagnosis, she continued, allows expectant mothers and their care teams to plan deliveries at hospitals equipped to provide specialized treatment, ensuring newborns receive critical care without delay.

Wegner’s research found that mothers of Latino or Hispanic ethnicity, as well as those who prefer a non-English language, are significantly less likely to receive a prenatal diagnosis. Understanding why, she says, is key to addressing preventable gaps in care.

“These findings are going to help remove barriers to prenatal care and hopefully improve access to care for underserved populations,” she said.

Questions

What are you studying?

 “I’m working with the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, with Alicia Chaves, and we are studying prenatal diagnosis and congenital heart disease and the maternal factors that are associated with a prenatal diagnosis versus a postnatal diagnosis. And right now, we’re still collecting data on the prenatal care history, but we were able to find demographic findings on the infants and mom as well as the timing of diagnosis of these infants. So far, we have found that moms of Latino and Hispanic ethnicity are significantly less likely to be diagnosed or have a prenatal diagnosis, as well as mothers who prefer non-English language.”

What challenges do families face if congenital heart disease isn’t detected until after birth

 “A prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease is very important, first for coordinating the delivery planning as well as a timely intervention. So, for example, if a patient was born at another hospital other than University of Maryland Medical Center, and they may not have the resources or the training to deliver the care that they need at a timely rate, they would need to be transferred to our hospital. And so having that prenatal diagnosis allows them to plan their delivery here at our hospital so that they can receive the best care at the fastest rate.”

Why is this kind of research important?

“It has been shown that infants who are diagnosed prenatally have much better outcomes than those who are diagnosed postnatally.”