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The midwife called me today to let me know that the perinatolgist they have in the there practice read the babies US and that he sees this 5-10 times a week. The baby has no other markers and no structural anomalies and everything looks good according to the perinatologist. The babies heart is strong and within limits as are all the other measurements they take. Her face and ears are where they should be and the measurements are within limits. Her head is normal and are her long bones. They said when they see a normally developing baby with this one soft marker they just call it a variant of normal because it pops up every week now. The midwife said this serves to worry parents more than anything else.

Finding this site was such a comfort. Like so many of you who have already posted, I was also informed that my 18wk old baby had an EIF on the heart.. I went for a level 2 ultrasound last week, and thank God, the technician found nothing. When the doctor came into the room after the u/s to tell us that the spot was gone, and everything was fine, my husband and I almost burst into tears right there. When we got on the elevator, our technician was there, and my husband asked her about the spot again. She said that it could have been a reflection of light from the u/s itself, and that the u/s machines are more sensitive now and pick up more detail than before. Even though everything thank God looked fine, we still saw the Genetic Counsellor who explained to the two of us that using this marker for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down's is the weakest marker. It's actually number 20 on the list of 20 possible soft markers a baby can have. She told us that a stronger marker for example, is fluid behind the neck of the baby. She also told us that AGE plays a far, far lesser role in the chances of a baby having Down's than has been previously thought. No matter what our baby has, God willing we will love our baby and give her the best of ourselves. But my big issue now is that I really want to stress to my midwife that she should be aware that so many women have babies that initially show this EIF on the heart, and it is not something to panic about. When she initially called me, she sounded almost close to tears herself. Not only that, the way she was wording everything sounded as if she knew more than she was telling me! The next time she tells an expectant mother this news, she should really stress how common this is and that she recommends further testing just as a precautionary measure, but to **NOT WORRY** because it IS so common these days. God willing, I am due near the end of August, and truly wish you all the most healthy pregnancies with healthy babies.

Hi- I posted here a few weeks ago and wanted to share my follow-up. They found an Echogenic Focus on my babies heart at the 18 week ultrasound and due to my age (36) they said my chance of downs syndrome doubled to 1 in 65. I really struggled with whether or not to do the amnio - but eventually decided to do it. The amnio was really easy and not very painful. I got my preliminary results back and everything looks fine! I am so happy I decided to do the amnio just so we could know one way or another. I just wanted to share my good news and tell all the mom's who have had the same experience not to panic. The ultrasound tech said they really see this alot! Good luck to all :)

hi everyone, i have been posted that on 18 weeks u/s they found two soft sign cpc and eif in her left ventricle(heart) and they ruine my pregnancy and now i am saying i have suffer for nothing i gave birth my baby girl on 29th march and she is compeletly perfect and healthy and very beautiful even when she was born all the nurses and midwifes praised her beauty my message for all ladies who are under the same stress is this plz dont worry and enjoy your pregnancy and be happy all will have perfect babies good luck all and enjoy your pregnancy and behappy.

Thanks Hosna and congratulations. It's always good to hear that yet another healthy baby has been born.

Patty, I'm in the same situation except I haven't gotten the results back for my AFP test yet. They found the foci spot on my baby's heart too. I'm due Sept. 24th. I'm having a lot of anxiety about it. But the message board is rea__suring. It seems that this "spot" is more common than I knew or was told. And those AFP tests aren't accurate. Some people even choose NOT to take them. I posted a question on this forum also, (above yours.) I'm sure both of our baby's will be healthy. Let's be positive! :)

Thank god I found this site. I've been so scared and needed piece of mind. I'm glad I found other people who know how I feel. I'm 34 yrs.old and a little more than 16 wks. pregnant. I had the stage 2 ultrasound done. The doctor said that I had this "spot" on the baby's heart. He explained that there was a possiblility for Downs Syndrome and that my being 34 also was a factor. I had the blood test done that day also. The results should be back tomorrow or Monday. They said that even if the blood test comes back negative, that it isn't always accurate. The only way to know for sure is to do the amnio. My husband does NOT want to do that. He says its too risky for the baby. And that we'd keep it no matter what. (I haven't even thought about THAT yet.) I have to go for another ultrasound in 4 wks because they said i was still early in the pregnancy and couldn't see everything they needed yet. I don't know if I'm jumping to conclusions to quickly and unecessarily panicing. The baby was very active and I could see her little arms and legs moving and her little fingers and toes. From what I've seen on here...this spot is common and usually no reason for concern. Am I right?? I took my baby's ultrasound picture and compaired it with an online picture of a baby with D/S to see if they looked the same. I will love this baby no matter what but of course it's natural to want your child to be healthy. I was hoping that if the blood test comes back negative, I'll feel a "little" better about it. Anyone have ANY comments or advice. PLease! thank you Jodi34 ?

I just wanted to let you all know that my blood test results came back for the Downs Syndrome. They were negative! It said the ratio was 1 out of 800 people. I think that's good. These tests aren't always accurate but I feel better knowing that it said negative. Hopefully when I go back next month for the follow up ultrasound, the "dreaded spot" on my baby's heart will have gone away. She is only 16wks so she still has a lot of growing to do. Hopefully all this worry will have been for nothing! It's awful to have to worry about your unborn child's health. I'd be happy to share in any comments if anyone else has the same situation or wants to share there concerns or questions. It's great to have a site like this with others that know EXACTLY what we are going through. Love and God Bless Jodi

Dear Jodi34, please don't worry. After we found out our baby is thank God fine (the calcium deposit on the heart was completely gone after a few short weeks) the Genetic Counsellor explained to us that this soft marker for chromosomal abnormalities like Down's is a very poor one. It's number 20 on the list of 20 things to look for! She also explained to us that these soft markers they find on babies on the heart, brain, etc. could very well just be little harmless things that occur in the development of the baby and then disappear; all perfectly normal. Just that u/s technology nowadays picks up these little things. I also 34, and will be 35 by the time my baby is born. The counsellor also told us that age actually has far less to do/w women having Down's babies than previously thought. My husband did his own research on this, and found that it appears to be that young women have more babies with Down's than older women. She told us that the chances of having a baby with Down's is extremely random. Anyway Jodi, please don't worry, you sound like you and the baby are doing wonderfully. Try to enjoy the rest of your pregnancy as stress is not good for you nor the baby. All the best to you and everyone here.

Dear Lightofmyheart- Thanks for the terrific encouragement and rea__surance. My spirits have been lifted. I have the second ultrasound on May 10th. I feel like I can rest a little easier now. My baby is due Sept.24th and they "think" it's a girl. I'll be 35 in Feb. I didn't really think age played that big of a role eaither these days. Some women have healthy children in their 40's now. Sometimes I think these tests are so advanced that even the technicians cannot interpret them correctly. Like my mom said......, when she had me there weren't ultrasounds. You got whatever popped out! And a lot less worrying too! Thank you and everyone be positive and enjoy our pregnancies! Jodi

Hi everyone.. my name speaks for itself. Ever since they told me about the white spot on my baby's heart is linked to down syndrome at my 19th week ultrasound, I have been in tears. In the end I have opted out of an amnio and will organise a 28th week scan. I am due in mid August and hope all is ok but you just can't stop worrying. I opted out of an amnio due to the fact that if i miscarry or terminate the pregnancy I will have to still give birth. It's very difficult especially when you can feel your baby moving and I'm lso scared to love him. What happened to TAMALI iam intersted to see how she went, she should have had her baby by now. Also what happened to Patty?? If anyone knows please let me know their results. Also please keep this messages and support alive it really helps!! Don't forget to let us know when you all give birth. I promise to let you know in August 2007.. fingers crossed.

Nightmare... You should change your name to HOPE! If you read this entire board, and yes, I know how long it is and how many people have posted, you will see that not even one person who has posted has had a child with DS with an echogenic foci alone. It is a really weak marker, half of doctors don't even consider it a marker. There has to be all sorts of other problems to even consider downs. Relax and enjoy your pregnancy, your baby is healthy, you MUST believe that. I am not talking out of my hat, so to speak. I have been in your position not so long ago and now my son (a twin) is 3 months old and perfectly healthy. As for Patty, she never reported back, but there are dozens of success stories on this site. Keep reading them and have faith, I'm sure you will be posting your success story after august!

Thanks Emunah. You are right... my husband keeps telling me to stay positive and have faith in god. Yes all the success stories I have read is very inspiring and encouraging. I have decided that I will love this child no matter what... like i mentioned earlier, the kicks I'm feeling makes it more real and if though i'm scared I can't help but fall in love with my little boy. Just to let you all know, my first child who is now 2 yrs old, was told that he had CPC choroid plexus cyst in the brain.. obviously these disappeared and he is a healthy child. I'm hoping this is the case with the spot on the heart. Yes I shuld change my name to Hope..

My wife and I just had our 20 wk ultrasound and found out that our son also has an echogenic foci spot on his heart. This is the only marker detected on the ultrasound, and our blood work did look good. However, my wife and I are both freaking out right now. Our doctor said it is nothing to worry about, but how can we not worry? I just don't know if I am strong enough for the worse case scenario. I am 29 and my wife is 30. I would love to hear from anyone who has gone through this as well. I keep all of you going through this similar ordeal in my thoughts. Thanks!

Concerneddad-My husband and I went through the same experience earlier this month. We had a second ultrasound at a genetic specialist. That was what really made us feel better because no other markers were found. They also told us that these are very common and if your blood work was good, then don't worry about it. We still worry, but not as much since our ultrasound. They were just really good about showing us how the baby doesn't have any of the other markers. Perhaps you should try that to ease your minds? (if you haven't already)

I am also going through the same thing as you guys. I'm about 17 wks and they found the "dreaded spot" on the baby's heart. My blood work came back okay. I have another Ultrasound on May 10th. I'm SCARED too! But knowing the blood work was okay AND having SO MANY people on this message board with the very same situation is actually rea__suring. I believe it is more common than anyone every thought or knew of. Technology is so advance that they find things that they never could in the past. They have to let you know anything they find but it doesn't mean the worst. Most children who have Downs Syndrome have this spot. HOWEVER, not all babies that have this foci spot have Downs. We NEED to stay positive and be happy and healthy. Keep me updated and I will with all of you. I'm certain that on or around September 24th I will have a healthy little baby girl smiling at me!