What is congenital diaphragmatic hernia?

Also known as: CDH.

The diaphragm is the muscular boundary that helps separate the contents of the chest from those of the abdomen. When there’s a hole within the diaphragm of a growing fetus while it’s in the mother’s womb, this is known as a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or CDH. This birth defect is large enough for organs to poke through the hole in the diaphragm and into the chest, which leads to other complications.

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Reviewed by: Shifra A Koyfman, MD

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM