How is esophageal atresia diagnosed?

How is esophageal atresia diagnosed?

If your baby coughs or chokes when trying to feed after birth, your provider may suspect esophageal atresia. To check, your provider may insert a feeding tube into your baby’s nose or mouth to see if the tube can travel all the way to the stomach.

An esophageal atresia diagnosis is usually confirmed with an X-ray, which shows any abnormal development of the esophagus.

In rare cases, esophageal atresia is diagnosed before birth during a prenatal ultrasound. This imaging test uses sound waves to create an image of the baby on a monitor. Pregnancies affected by esophageal atresia commonly develop a build-up of amniotic fluid called polyhydramnios.