Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/332162
To learn more about high-risk maternity care, visit TexasHealth.org/Women. "Finding doctors you are comfortable with and trust is the most important thing you can do for your care. Our situation was scary, but my husband and I knew we did everything we could for our baby because we were cared for by great doctors." — Elsa Battaglia What Is Velamentous Cord Insertion? Normally, the veins necessary for the developing baby are part of the umbilical cord. In a velamentous cord insertion, the blood vessels travel across the membrane of the placenta before becoming part of the umbilical cord and inserting into the placenta. This means the blood vessels are not protected and, depending on where they are located, could be vulnerable to rupture. When blood vessels are at risk of bursting during labor, the condition is called vasa previa. hen 41-year-old Elsa Battaglia and her husband Scott learned they were expecting a baby, they knew there might be age- related risks. During a routine ultrasound at 20 weeks, Elsa's worst fears came true when she learned she had a velamentous cord insertion with vasa previa. "Vasa previa means the vessels supplying the baby with blood were likely to burst when Elsa's water broke," says John Bertrand, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., OB/GYN on the medical staff at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. "It was quite a dangerous situation for the baby. If we had not diagnosed the condition, the baby would have bled out during labor." Working with Brian Rinehart, M.D., maternal fetal medicine specialist on the medical staff and medical director of the Maternal High Risk Program at Texas Health Dallas, Dr. Bertrand and the Battaglias were able to keep everything safe for the couple's unborn son. "As soon as I was diagnosed, we scheduled a Cesarean section for 34 weeks Lean on Me Thanks to early detection and the work of physicians on the medical staff at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, a high-risk pregnancy resulted in a happy, healthy baby. gestation," Elsa says. "We knew he would be early, so I had steroid injections to make sure his lungs were fully developed." WELCOME BABY BATTAGLIA Prior to Elsa's scheduled delivery, Drs. Bertrand and Rinehart were able to map the blood vessels' location along the placenta. Through a careful operation, none of the blood vessels burst, and at 7:46 a.m. on Dec. 20, 2013, Samuel Charles Battaglia was born to thrilled parents. Much to the joy of everyone involved, Samuel did not need a trip to the neonatal intensive care unit, despite being several weeks early. "When I heard the baby cry, I knew he was OK," Elsa says. "I had exemplary care during my pregnancy and labor, and I would recommend the care I experienced to anyone." Miracl Bab w 3 TexasHealth.org