Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is a birth defect that is present in 1,600 to 2,000 births a year. It is as common as Spina Bifida and Cerebral Palsy, yet so little is understood about it. CDH occurs when the diaphragm, the large muscle that seperates the abdominal cavity from the chest cavity, fails to fully form in utero. This opening can occur on either side or on both in rare cases. The opening can range from a small hole to missing an entire side (as in Jeremiah’s case, known as Agenesis type CDH). This opening allows the stomach, bowel and sometimes liver to move into the chest during pregnancy- causing a crowding out where the heart and lungs are supposed to form.

The severity of CDH is not so much into the bad arrangement of organs (though it comes with it’s own ball of wax), but in the restricted growth of the affected lung and sometimes even the heart. These children have no determined outcome, as every CDH baby is different, but the overall survival rate has been a steady 50%.

It is not known what causes CDH, but we do know what ~doesn’t~cause it. CDH is not caused by bad nutrition, it is not caused by drinking, it is not caused by smoking, it is not caused by smoking crack, it is not caused by wearing white after labor day, it is not caused by sleeping on your right side during pregnancy, it is not caused by age of the mother, or any of the other mumbo jumbo I have heard since Jeremiah’s diagnosis.

Though we have no known cause or miracle cure, we have found treatments to ease the myriad of complications and give CDH babies the best possible shot at life. Sadly, these treatments carry their own risks as well, everything from the ever present risk of infection, to brain bleeds, to over exertion of the lungs and subsequent collapse. Some CDH children are deaf, some are blind, some are tube feed, some are ventillator dependent, some are oxygen dependent, most are medication dependent, and some just need things put back in place. There is no telling how things will turn out, but there is always hope and their is always love. These children -who endure so much so soon -are the lesson in their families lives about the will to live and the validity of the human spirit.