Question
At 21 weeks of pregnancy, an ultrasound detected a 0.9cm hydrops in the right cerebral ventricle of the fetus, which increased to 1.3cm at 29 weeks. The left cerebral ventricle also had a 1.2cm hydrops. However, by 31 weeks, the hydrops in the right cerebral ventricle had decreased to 0.8cm, and the left side had decreased to 0.6cm. In this situation, is it advisable to retain the fetus, and is there a risk of hydrops recurrence and potential effects?
Answer
Based on your description, there was a temporary expansion of the fetal lateral ventricles during pregnancy, but so far, these values have returned to normal ranges. Therefore, from the current results, it appears that there should be no impact on fetal brain development. You can consider keeping this child. After birth, regular checks should be scheduled; if these values no longer increase, there is typically no major issue.