Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Hydrops fetalis
HP:0001789
What it means
The abnormal accumulation of fluid in two or more fetal compartments, including ascites, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, and skin edema.
The most common causes of hydrops fetalis are hematologic (including isoimmunization because of Rhesus incompatibility and other causes), hereditary hemolytic disorders, fetal hemorrhage, disorders of red cell production), cardiovascular disorders, infections, certain intrathoracic malformations, and idiopathic forms.
Rare diseases that can present with this54
Very common80–99%
9Common30–79%
15- ALG8-CDG
- Blomstrand lethal chondrodysplasia
- Boomerang dysplasia
- Campomelia, Cumming type
- Congenital pulmonary lymphangiectasia
- Congenital syphilis
- Dysplastic cortical hyperostosis, Al-Gazali type
- Free sialic acid storage disease
- Gaucher disease type 3
- Hemolytic anemia due to red cell pyruvate kinase deficiency
- Mucopolysaccharidosis type 7
- Platyspondylic dysplasia, Torrance type
- S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase deficiency
- Short rib-polydactyly syndrome, Verma-Naumoff type
- Transaldolase deficiency
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
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Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.