During Kristin’s routine 20-week ultrasound, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease that produces certain antibodies in the blood that can impact a fetus, specifically their heart. In Kristin’s case, her condition led to her unborn baby, Beau, being diagnosed with congenital heart block or atrioventricular block, a rare disorder that occurs when the electrical signals that control the heartbeat don’t move correctly from the top chambers of the heart (atria) to the bottom chambers (ventricles). This makes it harder for the heart to keep a normal rate and rhythm.

Thanks to the collaborative nature of our healthcare system, Terri-Ann Bennett, MD, chief of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Memorial Healthcare System, and Katelyn Snyder, MD, medical director of Fetal Cardiology at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, were able to care for mom and baby.

Thanks to our multidisciplinary approach, Kristin and her husband, Nate, were confident they were in good hands throughout the remainder of her pregnancy.

Our fetal care coordinator manages the entire patient journey, so parents don’t have to worry where to turn to. Starting with the high-risk pregnancy care team, a coordinated effort brings together high-risk obstetricians, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and pediatric cardiologists to determine a personalized plan for Kristin and Beau.

Beau needed a pacemaker implanted soon after being born to treat his condition. Since he was premature, he was much smaller than a typical newborn, so the traditional pacemaker was too big to be considered an option because it's sized for an adult.

"There’s a new type of [pediatric or infant pacemaker]—the smallest we have available—that is about half the size of my pinky," said Orhan Kilinc, MD, pediatric electrophysiologist and pediatric cardiologist, at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. "We requested this for Beau, and when it became available, we performed the procedure."