Why does hydrops happen

This is the more common type of hydrops. This type includes all other diseases or complications that may interfere with how your baby manages fluid.

Some of the diseases or conditions that can cause nonimmune hydrops include:. Symptoms can occur a bit differently in each child. Below are the most common symptoms of hydrops. Ultrasound of the unborn baby that shows enlarged liver, spleen, or heart. The symptoms of hydrops may look like other health conditions.

It is almost always diagnosed during pregnancy or immediately at birth. This test uses sound waves to create images of blood vessels, tissues, and organs. The healthcare provider will use the ultrasound to look at how your baby's internal organs are working. The provider can see how blood flows through different vessels.

Fetal blood sampling. Education, advocacy and emotional support are vital to helping families navigate the challenges of a diagnosis of hydrops. If you met Amelia Grace, you would be best friends immediately. The 4-year-old never meets a stranger. While in the womb, Amelia developed a condition called hydrops — an excessive accumulation of fluid that is fatal if left untreated.

Learn More. Phone: or Referral Fax: What is hydrops? The fluid may accumulate: in the abdominal cavity ascites around the lungs pleural effusion around the heart pericardial effusion in the skin or scalp edema. From hydrops to hope If you met Amelia Grace, you would be best friends immediately. The risk of death is highest for babies who are diagnosed very early less than 24 weeks into pregnancy or who have structural abnormalities, such as a structural heart defect.

Babies born with hydrops fetalis may also have underdeveloped lungs and be at a higher risk of:. When a woman and her unborn baby carry different Rh protein factors, they have an Rh incompatibility. A blood test can determine your Rh status. If an…. It occurs….

Learn about the types of prenatal screening tests that check for developmental and genetic issues that may affect your unborn child. Learn how pregnancy affects blood pressure and what you can do to prevent abnormal blood pressure levels during pregnancy. A new study finds that epidurals do not affect child development in their later years. A fetal arrhythmia is an irregular heart rate — too fast, too slow, or otherwise outside the norm. It's often benign. Postpartum diarrhea after a C-section is normal.

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by Karen Gill, M. Types of hydrops fetalis. Non-immune hydrops fetalis Non-immune hydrops fetalis is now the most common type of hydrops fetalis. What are the symptoms of hydrops fetalis? Pregnant women may experience the following symptoms if the fetus has hydrops fetalis: excess of amniotic fluid polyhydramnios thick or abnormally large placenta The fetus might also have an enlarged spleen, heart, or liver, and fluid surrounding the heart or lungs, observable during an ultrasound.

A baby born with hydrops fetalis may have the following symptoms: pale skin bruising severe swelling edema , especially in the abdomen enlarged liver and spleen difficulty breathing severe jaundice.

Diagnosing hydrops fetalis. These include: fetal blood sampling amniocentesis , which is the withdrawal of amniotic fluid for further testing fetal echocardiography , which looks for structural defects of the heart. How is hydrops fetalis treated?