YOU ARE WATCHING
Breathing Easier: Fetal Lung Anomalies Video
NOW PLAYING: 1 of 10
Introduction: Lung Lesions
Adam and Naomi discuss how they felt after an ultrasound revealed their unborn child had a lung lesion. Doctors and nurses at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia describe their expertise treating fetal problems and how they educate parents to make the choices that are right for them and their child.
In this video series doctors and nurses from the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment describe different lung anomalies and some of the procedures used to treat them. Use the links below to navigate through the series.
Transcript: Introduction: Lung Lesions
Adam Shapiro, Parent: At about 20 weeks we went in for, what we thought, was going to be a normal ultrasound and found out that we had a lung lesion and we needed to deal with it.
Naomi Shapiro, Parent: You know, when you find out that you have a problem and you're 20 weeks pregnant, you're only halfway through the pregnancy, and you still have 20 weeks left to go. And so you have 20 weeks of worry, 20 weeks of tests, and 20 weeks to make sure that you're going to end up with a healthy baby. And that just seems like a lifetime.
Lori J. Howell, RN: For families like Naomi's, finding out that you're pregnant with a fetus with a lung lesion can be devastating. For us, we see it frequently every day.
Adam Shapiro: Our physician, as good as she was at identifying what it was, had seen one or two in her lifetime.
Alan W. Flake, MD: You have to understand that these tumors are extremely rare.
N. Scott Adzick, MD: For an obstetrician, say, in the community, he or she may see one case of fetal lung lesion in their professional life.
Naomi Shapiro: Every year we meet people that were told that their baby would never have a normal life and that they should terminate the pregnancy.
N. Scott Adzick, MD: There's a lot of misinformation out there.
Alan W. Flake, MD: We have many patients that have had termination recommended when, in reality, we would have an optimistic viewpoint for that particular tumor.
Adam Shapiro: You get diagnosed with a CCAM, you clearly feel like — okay, I'm pretty unlucky. But let me tell you, we were among the lucky. We have a child who's leading a normal life.
Lori J. Howell, RN: This is really a serious diagnosis, and we take it very seriously. But today the vast majority of these stories have happy endings.
Naomi Shapiro: At the end of the day, they were right. And we had surgery, and we have — we have a wonderfully healthy child.
Adam Shapiro: She's beautiful. She runs. She screams. She uses those lungs. And she's got a whole life in front of her.
Lori J. Howell, RN: Our goal at the Center is to be able to give families and physicians a better sense of a particular fetus's problem and how best to manage it.
Jan: Hi, this is Jan calling from Children's Hospital. Fine. How are you doing? That's good. That's good. I need to get some information from you so we can get you —
Lori J. Howell, RN: When you come here, you're going to know that we have treated hundreds of mothers with fetal lung problems. You're going to know how to manage the pregnancy from this point forward. And when you leave here, you will be completely reassured as to what the pregnancy problem is and that you know how to handle it.
Contact Us
- 1-800-468-8376
- (1-800-IN-UTERO)
- Contact Us Online