Background and Objectives: Although survival after congenital cardiac malformations (CCM) has improved, little is known about Romanian children’s own perceptions of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) or their emotional burden. We compared HRQoL, depressive symptoms, and anxiety across lesion severity strata and explored clinical predictors of impaired HRQoL. Methods: In this cross-sectional study (1 May 2023–30 April 2025), 72 children (mean age 7.9 ± 3.0 years, 52.8% male) attending a tertiary cardiology clinic completed the Romanian-validated Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders questionnaire (SCARED-C, child version). Lesions were classified as mild (n = 22), moderate (n = 34), or severe (n = 16). Left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and unplanned cardiac hospitalisations over the preceding 12 months were extracted from electronic records. Results: Mean PedsQL total scores declined stepwise by severity (mild 80.9 ± 7.3; moderate 71.2 ± 8.4; severe 63.1 ± 5.4; p < 0.001). CDI and SCARED-C scores rose correspondingly (CDI: 9.5 ± 3.0, 13.6 ± 4.0, 18.0 ± 2.7; anxiety: 15.2 ± 3.3, 17.2 ± 3.8, 24.0 ± 3.4; both p < 0.001). PedsQL correlated positively with LVEF (r = 0.51, p < 0.001) and negatively with hospitalisations (r = −0.39, p = 0.001), depression (r = −0.44, p < 0.001), and anxiety (r = −0.47, p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, anatomical severity remained the sole independent predictor of lower HRQoL (β = −8.4 points per severity tier, p < 0.001; model R² = 0.45). Children with ≥ 1 hospitalisation (n = 42) reported poorer HRQoL (69.6 ± 8.0 vs. 76.1 ± 11.1; p = 0.005) and higher depressive scores (p < 0.001). Conclusions: HRQoL and internalising symptoms in Romanian children with CCM worsen with increasing anatomical complexity and recent hospital utilisation. The severity tier outweighed functional markers as the main determinant of HRQoL, suggesting that psychosocial screening and support should be scaled to lesion complexity. Integrating the routine use of the Romanian-validated PedsQL, CDI, and SCARED-C questionnaire into cardiology follow-up may help identify vulnerable patients early and guide targeted interventions.

Objectives: Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are among the most frequent congenital defects, and they significantly burden the healthcare system due to their high mortality rate and high cost of care for survivors. We aimed to highlight the incidence of CHDs in a tertiary center in Western Romania. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out between 2018 and 2022 at the “Pius Brinzeu” Emergency County Hospital Timisoara. Relevant information about the mothers and the newborns were collected and statistically analyzed. Results: The incidence of CHDs from 2018 to 2022 in our center was 5.3%. Eleven types of malformations were diagnosed postnatally in 541 newborns, with 28.8% of cases having more than one type of CHD. The antenatal detection rate was 28%, with the highest rates for tetralogy of Fallot, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or significant ventricular septal defects and the lowest for pulmonary stenosis. The lower antenatal detection rate was influenced mainly by incomplete or absent prenatal care. Conclusions: The incidence of CHDs is clearly dependent of a multifactorial approach, and the results highlight this. With an incidence almost 50% lower than reported within the literature and a low rate of prenatal detections, CHDs could be a more of a burden to endure regarding medical treatment. Improvements in patients’ education, prenatal care, and screening programs could improve diagnosis, decrease mortality, and optimize postnatal care.

Background: The health development of a baby during pregnancy is greatly influenced by prenatal bonding. The purpose of this study is to assess maternal-fetal attachment in the second- and third-trimesters and explore how the mother’s mental health and socioeconomic circumstances may affect it. Additionally, this study takes into account other relevant aspects, and addresses the existing lack of relevant information in Romania. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from 200 pregnant women in the second- and third-trimesters of pregnancy. Personal Information Form (PIF), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and Maternal-Foetal Attachment Scale (MFAS) questionnaires were collected. Results: There was no statistically significant correlation between the MFAS and the mental health of the mother. Moreover, subsequent comparative analyses revealed a significant difference only in the case of socio-economic conditions, with women with a moderate socio-economic status showed higher levels of maternal-foetal attachment. Conclusions: The degree of maternal-foetal attachment is not significantly influenced by social characteristics such as age, education level, socio-economic context, or place of residence. The MFAS measured the attachment relationship. However, the study found no statistically significant correlation between the mother’s mental health and this attachment.

Introduction: Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most frequent group of major congenital anomalies and impose a disproportionate burden on neonatal services. Antenatal detection determines where and how an affected newborn is delivered, yet reported detection rates differ several-fold between European countries. We aimed to quantify the postnatal occurrence and the antenatal detection of CHDs in a tertiary obstetric center in Western Romania and to place both figures in a comparable international context. Material and Methods: Retrospective observational study of all 10,113 births registered at the “Pius Brînzeu” County Clinical Emergency Hospital, Timișoara, between 2018 and 2022. Newborns with at least one cardiac lesion recorded on indication-based postnatal echocardiography were identified from the hospital electronic record. Interatrial communications and ductal patency recorded at the neonatal-index examination were counted inclusively and are analyzed separately from structural defects. A defect was classified as antenatally detected when it had been reported at any prenatal ultrasound scan and was subsequently confirmed postnatally. Proportions are reported with Wilson score 95% confidence intervals (CIs), separately at the level of the newborn and at the level of the individual lesion. Results: A total of 541 newborns carried at least one recorded cardiac lesion, giving an occurrence of 5.35% of births (95% CI 4.93–5.81); 670 individual lesions were recorded, a mean of 1.24 per affected newborn. Interatrial communication (n = 319; 47.6% of lesions) and ductal patency (n = 90; 13.4%) accounted for 61.0% of lesions; among the 261 structural defects, ventricular-septal defect was the most frequent (n = 121; 46.4%). An antenatal diagnosis had been made in 151 of 541 newborns (27.9%; 95% CI 24.3–31.8). Detection was highest for lesions distorting the four-chamber view, hypoplastic left-heart syndrome 4/5, and ventricular septal defect 80/121 (66.1%; 95% CI 57.3–73.9), and lowest for lesions requiring outflow-tract or arch views, including pulmonary stenosis 3/27 (11.1%; 95% CI 3.9–28.1) and aortic stenosis 0/12. Restricting the count to structural defects gives 13.1 to 25.8 affected newborns per 1000 births, against a EUROCAT total prevalence of 8.0 per 1000. Conclusions: The occurrence recorded here reflects tertiary referral, indication-based echocardiography, and an inclusive case definition rather than a genuine population excess, and is not interchangeable with registry prevalence. The antenatal detection rate of 27.9% sits between European settings without organized screening and those performing two or three routine scans per pregnancy. The detection deficit is concentrated in lesions that require outflow-tract or arch views. Because the views obtained at each scan were not recorded and detection was not stratified by prenatal-care status, the contribution of examination protocol and of access to care is inferred rather than demonstrated; both are testable hypotheses for a prospective, protocolized study.