Q: My three days old son is having a 4 mm hole in the heart. What precautions should be taken? If the hole increases, what is the remedy?

A:In a 3 days old baby, 4 mm hole in the heart is not an uncommon thing and quite often as the baby grows, the hole closes. I don't think you should worry or panic at this stage about the hole in the heart, nor can you take any specific precautionary measures excepting being in regular follow up of a qualified cardiologist. With bit of luck, there is every chance that this hole may close spontaneously because holes are normally present in babies when they are in mother’s womb and they can close even up to one year and beyond of age.