Advances in ultrasonic diagnostic technology have given a ray of hope to pregnant women whose babies have serious cardiac ailments.
"My baby wouldn't have been here if we had not discovered her disease" before she was born, said Nobuko Hiratsu, 29, of Kanagawa Prefecture, recalling her ordeal.
She was alerted to the possibility of a medical condition in December 2014 shortly after her pregnancy was confirmed when an obstetrician noticed a swelling in her baby's body in a medical exam.