The following is a transcript of a report by medical editor Marilyn Brooks that first aired Oct. 25, 2006, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

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Imagine being told you could never have a baby, that it would be too risky. Women with heart problems have been told that for years, but a different approach to pregnancy is changing the rules.

That different approach is state-of-the-art technology. Doctors are using it and finding that it's letting more women share in the miracle of birth.

Angela Trout grew up in a tight-knit family and always dreamed of having one of her own, but her dreams were shattered when her doctor told her she could not risk pregnancy because of her congenital heart defect.

"Out of the blue, the doctor said, 'Don't get pregnant,'" said Trout. "They sat me down and said it would be horrible. It would not be good for myself or the baby."

Pregnancy increases the demand on an already overworked heart, but not everyone agrees the two are mutually exclusive. That's good news for many of the roughly one million adults now living with congenital heart disease.

"Thirty of our patients are currently pregnant and have heart disease," said nurse Libby Sparks, of The Ohio State University Medical Center. "And the spectrum of heart disease varies from mild forms of heart disease to very severe forms of heart disease."

Those conditions can cause shortness of breath, palpitations or chest pains, so Dr. Curt Daniels has formed a sort of medical "swat team". He can use high-tech, 3D imaging to monitor the mother's heart. High-risk obstetricians monitor the baby's condition. Surgeons and anesthesiologists can perform delicate procedures.

"We're willing to take these patients to the catheterization lab if we have to, to improve their cardiac output from the heart by fixing a heart valve or doing something to improve their heart function," said Daniels.

And, in a five-year study, not one mother or baby was lost. Trout is living proof of the program's success, not once but twice with two healthy daughters who have since stolen her heart.

If you're a woman with congenital heart disease, you do have options thanks to this emerging medical sub-specialty. Ask your doctor about them.