ABSTRACT
In order to ensure their safety, it is imperative the patients undergo preconception counseling regardless of their desire to become pregnant. For cardiac and obstetrical providers, a number of risk scoring scales have been developed to help guide management. A thorough review of the past medical history should include the presence of any noncardiac comorbidities that may influence pregnancy, such as thyroid disease, diabetes, and history of use of recreational drugs, alcohol, and cannabis products, particularly those with tetrahydrocannabino, which passes through the placenta. Contraceptive counseling should be an integral part of the clinical management of females with cardiac history who are of childbearing age. Several predictors have been described and more recently various risk assessment models have been validated for use in pregnancy. A number of patients will be advised against pregnancy, and for others conception may be difficult, which raises the possibility of seeking alternative ways to have children.
