During pregnancy, the fetal lungs are not used for breathing - the placenta does the work of exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide through the mother's circulation. With the first breaths of air the baby takes at birth, the fetal circulation changes.
Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a heart defect found in the days or weeks after birth. Read on to learn about symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options.
Heart problems are the most common kind of birth defects. While children with some heart defects can be monitored by a doctor and treated with medicine, others will need to have surgery.