New Delhi: Pregnancy is considered a beautiful phase in a woman’s life. Her body undergoes many changes, preparing to protect and feed the growing baby. Her heart goes through major changes too-the cardiovascular system works harder than usual in a pregnant woman, the blood volume rises by almost 50%, resulting in the heart pumping faster, and the blood vessels widen. As these changes can be considered normal, it puts extra stress on the heart.

In an interaction with News9Live, Dr. Triveni Arun Akkiraju, Consultant, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Laparoscopy & High-risk pregnancy, Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Hebbal, shared some tips for new moms to protect their heart and the baby’s heart as well.

Managing maternal cardiac health is both urgent and complex in India, where congenital heart disease survivors are increasingly having children and rheumatic heart disease still predominates. Nearly 70% of pregnant women in South Asia have rheumatic disease, and 1.5% have heart disease, according to a recent systematic review. These women have a higher risk of maternal and foetal death, preterm birth, low birth weight babies, and emergency caesarean sections.

In the first trimester, the heart starts to increase blood........

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