The article tells the story of a Stanford Medicine family who used a new cystic fibrosis (CF) medication, given prenatally to the mother, to prevent the serious intestinal complications that had affected their two older children with CF. When tests showed their third child had inherited the disease and was developing similar bowel blockages, the mother took Trikafta, a treatment normally used by CF patients themselves. Unexpectedly, the fetal bowel problems resolved before birth, allowing the baby to avoid surgery and go home just days after delivery. This case suggests that treating CF before birth could improve long-term outcomes and offers new hope for families facing the disease.
