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Thank you so much for the rea__surance. Our gut feeling is that everything is fine too. It helps to hear from others in the same situation though. Obviously the amnio test is something we dont want to do because of the risk..but is there any other tests that you know of to determine if there is a problem? Just to ease the mind a little more :) thanks

Oh yeah by the way...she is a girl :)

Hi I am going through the same thing right now. We got back abnormal afp results and at the level 2u/s they found the white spot on her heart and no other markers. From everything that I have read and heard we have nothing to worry about. The doctor said that in 7 years he has never seen a baby born with just the spot and no other markers so that was rea__suring. This forum helps a lot because I have read a lot of answers of people with the same thing and the babies are HEALTHY!! Hope it turns out great for all of us :)

gave birth on 8/24 to a healthy baby boy! God is good. i worried for 20 weeks straight. right after delivery,i asked my dr 3x if the baby had down's before i looked at him

oops, the first part of my post didn't show up. i had the echogenic foci at both 20 weeks and 24 weeks. my triple screen was normal though and i had no other markers. i had never heard of this soft marker so it freaked me out. during labor, i kept asking the various nurses about it and they kept saying everything was fine. i didn't even buy baby clothes ahead of time b/c i was afraid to celebrate. anyway, the baby is perfectly healthy!!

hi there, i have waited so long to be one of the "success stories" and wanted to post. i am 29 years old and was devastated (probably in part largely because of the terrible bedside manner of the doctor who talked to us) when at 24 weeks they saw an echogenic foci on my baby boy's heart. i had a terrible panic attack and almost fainted right in the sonographer's office. we had done the nuchal translucency at 12 weeks and the odds of down's were 1/10,000; and my AFP test was normal at 15 weeks. our initial 20 week sonogram showed everything was perfect but he was in the wrong position so they just couldn't see the heart. when we went back for another look they saw the spot and told us it was a marker for down's and my odds were now "cut in half"... i cried so much and though i did my best not to let it ruin the rest of my pregnancy, i thought about it every day and feel like something special was robbed from us. sites like this were such a comfort to me, especially when i read the follow up from moms who delivered healthy babies. i am so happy to say that my little guy was born two days ago and he couldn't be more perfect. the pediatrician also said that his heart sounds great, this is not uncommon and there is no need to do any further testing. so hang in there moms and try and take solace in these posts. even my ob gyn had said this is most likely a variant of normal, especially if you are under 35, have no family history and no other abnormal tests. hang in there... your babies will be great!!!!

I'm so glad I found this site. It has definitely rea__sured me a little. I'm currently 23 weeks pregnant and my 20 week ,level 2 ultrasound displayed 2 soft markers, 1 EIF and 1 choroid plexus cyst. Due to the risks, I opted out of the amnio but I continue to worry everyday about the health of my baby. My Dr. told me not to worry considering my age (25) as well as the fact that these two findings are unrelated (EIF - Downs Syndrome, CPC- Trisomy 18). Unfortunately I did not get the AFP test so my genetic counselor was unable to give me accurate chances of having a baby with DS or Trisomy 18. My husband and I are dealing but its been very upsetting. I've been visiting this site frequently and the stories have been very comforting. My prayers are with everyone.

I, like the rest of the people here, am so happy to have come across this site. I am 27 years old and 23 weeks pregnant. i did get my blood drawn for the AFP test, but they called me the next day and told me to come back in to get it drawn again due to the fact that they had ran a wrong test on my tubed blood. I just decided not to get it done after that. I had an ultrasound yesterday, and was so excited because I was suppose to find out the s_x of the baby. Well, its legs were crossed, so I was not able to find out what the s_x was, but I was told that my baby had echogenic foci on its heart. I was told not to worry also, but how could the DR. tell me something was found on my baby's heart then tell me I shouldn't panic. After reading all of the post on this site, I felt a lot better. I have and ultrasound scheduled in another week, but I don't know if the spots will be gone by then. is there anything else I can ask the sonographer to rea__sure me that my baby will not have DS? Hopefully the baby's legs won't be crossed again. I want to thank all of you here for the big lift of encouragement. I feel more secure with the fact that my baby will be okay hearing it from you all than my doctor. Is that terrible?

Hello Everyone, My wife (35) and I are expecting a boy late November (our 3rd child). We have an 18 and a 9 year old. In our 20th week, our son was found to have an echo foci spot on his heart. I wanted to share that experience with you. Of course, we were devastated, the way the doctor told us. We were so worried after hearing the news that he could have DS. They offered the amnio at the time, and we declined. Given her age, it was a real concern for us. Regardless, we were going to have our baby. If it is GOD's will, so let it be. We will love and care for our baby unconditionally. We didn't have a history of DS. We had the AFP done and it came back negative. She had a diabetes check last month and everything was OK. We are now seeing the doctor every 2 weeks now cuz we are 2 months away. Since all the tests came back negative, we are not that worried anymore. Our baby is growing normally. And we just put everything into HIS hands and we will continue to pray. Like all the others before us, we are thinking with todays technology, techs are able to see this calcium deposit when they couldn't see this before. Legally, they have to inform us. So, for all you younger mothers - to - be, I wouldn't worry too much; just pray and have faith. GOD Bless All of You!!!

This site truly does give me a positive outlook on everything. I will and do leave it up to GOD. Thanks everyone.

P.S. To worry: Is to pay interest on a debt you may NEVER owe. So try not to worry and hang in there ladies.

I posted back on 8/26 that they had found an echogenic foci on our babys heart..I just wanted to report that I am now 22 weeks and at the last u/s the spot was completely GONE!! We were so excited and the doctor said that it is not uncommon for those spots to just disappear..so have faith and enjoy your pregnancy thats what I am going to do :)

I too am in the same situation as all of you. I am 35 - pregnant with my 3rd. At 20 weeks, my US showed the white mark. I had the blood work and AFP and everything had come back normal. I just went back for another US at 28 weeks. Nothing new. I am so worried. I don't want to do the Amnio - too scared. But I just think it would put my mind at ease. The dr said not to worry about it – the other tests came back fine. But how can I not worry about it. I did find out though, that the baby is breech! Just one more thing to worry about, right?? But they say there is still time to flip. I hope she does! We have not told anyone about the white mark and any possible DS odds. We don’t want to put a label on the baby before she is even born. Even If the baby is born 100% fine, my mom will always be on the look out for something. It’s better not to worry anyone else unnecessarily. Unfortunately it makes it harder for me. Every one says – as long as the baby is healthy. Well, honestly, I don’t really know that she is at this point. I won’t know until she is born. That’s about 3 months away. Lots of time for me to sit and worry. It’s hard!!

Hi, I am 32 years old and 21 weeks pregnant with twin boys. I went for a level 2 sonogram last week and there were 2 findings. Baby A has a slightly dilated kidney, and baby B has a echogenic foci - bright spot. Although my doctor said he not too concerned, I am worried sick. From what I've read these are 2 soft markers for DS. My question is, does anyone know if one soft marker on each twin is considered like 2 markers, or just 1 on each twin? I did not have the AFP or amnio testing done. Doc said everything else on the ultrasound looked good. I am so worried, I could not sleep last night. Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

hi my name is lindsey and we are going through the same thing our son at 18 weeks was found to have echogenic foci I opted to have amino so if bryson was found to have downs my husband and I could better prepare ourselfs we are going monday to savannah GA. and yes I am questioning myself If Im doing the right thing im 21 first child

Hi everyone. I am so glad I found this sight. At my 16 week ultrasound the technician found 4 soft markers( echogenic foci in the heart, echogenic bowel, 2 vessel cord and hydrocephaly on both kidneys). As you can imagine I was terrified. My docotr did my AFP right away which was negative and sent me to a specialist where I decided to have the amnio as well which came back negative. It is some relief but there is still a spot in hid heart, the bowel i still somewhat bright and they have yet to determine how many vessels are in the cord. I go back on Monday for the specialist to check the cord and they are also going to do an echo on my baby to check his heart. I just want to know if there is anyone out there with more than just a spot on the heart who is either pregnant or has delivered. It's all I think about. I know the blood work and amnio were negative but I am still terrified. Thanks for listening.