What about labor and delivery?

Your health care team might advise that you deliver your baby at a medical center that specializes in high-risk pregnancies. In general, pregnant people whose heart conditions are under control can give birth when they go into natural labor. But sometimes, a procedure is done to help a pregnant person go into labor on a set date under controlled conditions. This is called induced labor. You might need this if your care team has certain concerns about your heart or blood flow.

Special equipment might be used to track your health during labor. Your heart rate and rhythm might need to be monitored throughout labor and delivery.

Your contractions and the baby's heart rate are watched closely as well. Instead of lying flat on your back, you might be asked to lie on your side. You might be asked to bring one of your knees toward your chest.

Your health care team might recommend that you receive medicine to keep you from feeling labor pain, called anesthesia. The anesthesia may be given through a thin tube into your spinal column, called an epidural. Or you might receive it as a shot into your spinal column, called a spinal block. If you give birth through your vagina, your health care team might limit your pushing. To do this, they may use tools that gently guide the baby out of the birth canal.

If you're at risk of endocarditis, you might receive antibiotic treatment just before and after delivery.

It's unusual to need a C-section because of a heart condition. If you develop a problem that leads to a C-section, special care is taken to track your heart health during the delivery. Your heart also is monitored for the next day or two afterward. If you have certain forms of severe heart disease, your health care team might suggest setting a date to induce labor.