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Gretchen, read back through these posts as they should bring you a small amount of comfort. I know my baby has the foci spot, left ventricle. A subsequent high level u/s found no other markers or abnormalities, and the tech was certain the baby looked fine... these are very common now with advances in u/s imaging. Try not to worry and about the amnio, if you would keep the pregnancy regardless of outcome, then I would point out 1/200 chance of miscarriage from the procedure itself. My friend found out the results of her amnio (healthy boy) the same day she miscarried him due to the amnio.

Glad you are all here, just got back from my 20 wk u/s and also found the echogenic foci spot. Everything else looked really good, and my quad screen indicated that there was only a 1 in 4000 chance of D/S. I am 36, so the doctor thought she would mention the 'marker'--I am also of Asian descent! though she said the studies were done mostly with Japanese women (which I am not) but that they were not sure if some these "Japanese" women were of other Asian ethnicity too. We will not do the amnio. I do hope we all have safe pregnancies and healthy babies*******

Hello everyone, I was very glad to find the site as I was researching echogenic foci on the internet today. I just had my second u/s yesterday at 21 weeks. Our baby girl has an echongenic foci spot on her heart. My heart just melted when the tech stated it could be an indicator of DS. However, the tech stated she has seen this in about 150 cases and in all of them it has been nothing. There are no other indicators. My quad screen came back negative. I am 29 years old and my risk is 1 in about 7,000. Everything else on our precious little girl looks normal. She squirmed through the entire u/s. I am going for a level 3 ultrasound in a week or so. My doctor did not even offer an amnio at this time. He stated he bleieves people overreact to finding the echogenic foci spot. He did not seem concerned. I am a nervous wreck. I came home from the u/s and just cried. Thanks for all of you information. I pray for a healthy baby for each of us. Remember it is in God's hands. I will keep you posted.

During my Wife's 16th week US, the tech told us that there was a echogenic foci in the left ventricle of the heart. Everything else was normal. This is the 3rd pregnancy we are seeing this. My wife has already termed twice before since we were told by doctors during last 2 times that the baby had DS. This time around, the Doctor feels that the "chances/odds" are much better. My wife & I are devastated - she prefers to term, given that this the 3rd time this has happened. Any advice for us. Please help!

Vik.First off your wife is very lucky to have a husband like you NOW Is this the only marker the Dr has Found? If so In my personal opinion I would NOT term the pregnancy Like I posted before my dd had the same thing and she is PERFECT absoultly PERFECT This is a personal decision but please if you need to talk to someone email I feel strongly about this being a VERY soft marker and so did my Dr. who is the top ultrasound dr in the state Harvard educated. I know this is a very hard time for you but your chances of having a healthy baby with this marker alone are very high again my email address is jthomas 76 @optonline.net this goes for anyone who would like to talk Good Luck Jennifer

Allison, sorry you have to go through this too. I have not really been upset, as I from everything I have heard and read, this is a very soft marker and your stats (as well as mine) are really amazing if you think about it: 1: 4000 and 1:7000! To vik, I would definitely get a second opinion and then do an amnio--An amnio will tell you 100% if the baby has ds or not. I know of a woman who had a baby with 4 markers for downs and the baby was born completely normal and healthy!!

I posted a question about having a baby with an echogenic focus on the heart a couple of months ago. I am now 30 weeks and my baby girl seems very strong as she is always kicking and squirming. However, I asked my Ob-Gyn about performing another ultrasound just to make sure everything is OK and he seemed upset at me for not having gotten the anmnio. I told him that I did not want to terminate even if the baby did have DS (my odds with a negative AFP and the postive U/S for my age 31 are 1 in 1700, whereas the odds of miscarriage for an amnio are 1 in 200). I see alot of you got 2nd and 3rd level ultrasounds. How can I get one of these 2nd or 3rd level ultrasounds? Any Advice? As always you are all in my prayers and I ask that you include me and my baby girl in your prayers as well.

ruth, I asked my ob about a follow up u/s also. She said that there is no reason to have one, because as far as she is concerned, there is nothing to worry about or watch. I also did not opt for the amnio. you and your baby are in my thoughts, from what I have been reading, and according to my doctor as well the neo-natal specialist who performed the u/s--the chances are very, very good that those with this very soft marker will be healthy.

I just had my first u/s at 21 weeks and was told I had the echogenic foci. Of course I flipped out. I am 33 years old will be 34 when the baby is born. I had a negative AFP test. My doctor told me not to worry that they see this a lot but I am still a mess about it. I just called to order a higher tech u/s to hopefully ease my mind. It is nice of course to read about others with this. Thank you.

Hope this helps...My doctor told me that after the initial research regarding a calcium deposit on a baby's heart was released (ie that it was a soft marker for downs), his ultrasound clinic conducted their own research. After scanning over 1700 babies with the spot they had about one or two with Downs. He also said that many other independent studies were carried out around the world which all had similar results - that the spot on its own was not really related to Downs at all. When I asked him to put a figure on the likelihood of the spot being realted to Downs he said much much less than 1%.

thanks KR, those are pretty close to the statistics that my dr gave me too! It does make me feel better.

I am 20 weeks and I just had my untrasound. We found out it is a girl, but also that there is the dredded white spot on the heart. I have not had the quad check due to the large amounts of false positives. I am 30 years old. Everything else was fine. Can anyone offer me some advice? I am scared!

sorry sara, it really is a bummer. . . I know. From everything here and what my doctor has said, don't worry about it if all else looks normal. Did you decide to have an amnio? It would be good if some of the ladies who posted earlier would let us know what happened and how their babies are. I will try to remember to post after our baby girl is born!

i have been reading all of these postings and trying to keep a positive outlook... it is really hard. i am just waiting for another ultra sound to see what the specialist has to say... the last one showed a spot on the heart.. i was so stressed out about it... last year i had a baby and it died shortly after birth.. so i am extra nervous and to find this out .. makes it worse.. i really hope that people will let everyone know how their babies are and how things are going.. this is such a great place to feel better.. people that are going through the same thing..

I wrote back in June when I was told about the spot on my baby's heart. This was the only marker, like many of you. I did NOT take any other tests to further explore the possibility of a down baby. I gave birth last week to a perfectly healthy girl...hang in there ladies.

THANKS Linda, I think I speak for every one when I say - its great to hear your little girl is healthy! Congradulations!!!!!!!