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it has been great reading all the positive posts of others where the EIF was found on the ultrasound. I too had this happen on Monday. I am 37, first time mom, who tried for years too get pregnant. I have done the research, read the posts and yet can't stop crying about it. I just had the quad screen done on Monday and waiting 7 to 10 days for results is TORTURE. Did anybody else totally obsess about this? I can hardly eat or sleep. by the way THANKFUL your posts brought me great comfort. ?

Hello again, everyone. A few months ago I shared my personal experience of having my doctor call me with the worrisome news that an ultrasound showed a calcium deposit on my baby's heart that could possibly be a sign of DS. He told me the risk was very small and not to worry, but of course I did. I tried to be realistic and stay positive, but the worry was always there in the back of my mind, plaguing me. Even though I understood why he did choose to tell me about it, I became privately angry because I had opted out of the genetic testing purposely so that I wouldn't worry over some likely meaningless risk, but I had something to cause me worry forced on me anyway. However, after many prayers, I am ecstatic to report that my worry was indeed for nothing and my beautiful baby girl Leia was born February 9, 2008 and is healthy and perfect in every way. She is everything I could have ever asked for and more. I know my contribution here is small, but I post it in the hope and anticipation that it might just be the grain of rice that tips the scale in the right direction for someone out there teetering between worry and hope. My best wishes to all of you and God Bless.

Thanks leiasmom! Your posting means A LOT!!!!

First of all, congrats to all on the healthy deliveries...these stories make me smile so hard when I read them! For WorriedBecky and the others waiting, I had an appt to meet our potential pediatrician this week (so another person to ask their opinion on the spot:))...I did and he looked at me and said you have nothing to worry about. His wife is a neonatologist and he said they see these as well as the cysts on the brain so much...he use to keep a running list in his office and they were ALL nothing. I tried the other day in a msg I prepared to post a link to a journal I found on line which showed ~450 cases of isolated focus' and not one chromosomal abnormality !!! The conclusion was that amniocentesis should NOT be recommended when isolated finding. Great article - I will try to look it up and again and post 'directions' to get there. Enjoy your weekends!

i have been reading this board since my 20 week ultrasound in sept. and found out my nbaby had an EIF on her heart. i thought i was going to throw up when the Dr. said the words down syndrome. i wasn't able to fully enjoy my pregnancy even though all the docs said it was nothing to worry about. this board helped me so much. i checked in often and was so pleased to hear about all the healthy babies being born. well, now it's my turn to help rea__sure somebody. I gave birth on Jan 28 to a beautiful, and extremely healthy 7lb 7oz baby girl! so when the dr. says don't worry, try to believe them. i know it's hard but the odds are in your favor that everything if fine. god bless all our babies!

They also found the dreaded EIF on my baby girl's heart at my 19 weeks us,I am happy to say I gave birth to a perfectly healthy and normal baby girl on the 5th of feb. I hope this helps somebody.

Hi again! Just letting you know that I had my baby boy on the 10th and he is perfect also- he doesn't even have my father's ears, thank gawd! Just to recap- they found a spot in both ventricles and I had an elevated quad test. I did have an amnio and was rea__sured for the duration of my pregnancy- but I will never forget that month and a half that I was unsure. I truly feel for you all and will never forget that nightmare and those living it on this board. Good luck to everyone and please take care. XOXOXOXO

Hi Everyone, I am happy to report another healthy baby with a diagnsed EIF at the 20-week ultrasound. I never posted on here during my pregnancy, but I was a faithful reader during the last half of my pregnancy. All the positive stories were very encouraging for me, so I wanted to share mine as well for all the others out there in the same situation. Like I mentioned, the dr told us about the EIF after our 20-week u/s. I also was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and a high level of amniotic fluid, which is another "soft marker" for Down's. I did not have any of the blood tests done earlier in pregancy because I didn't want to get a false positive and worry my whole pregnancy... Ironically that basically happened anyway with the EIF!!! After the EIF and high fluid levels, the drs gave me a 1-2% chance of Down's. I'm 27 and have no other risk factors. My husband and I decided against the amnio because we wouldn't have done anything differently, and I couldn't take the risk on what ended up being a perfectly healthy baby boy. Plus, we knew we would find out when he was born anyway. However, the stress of not knowing definitely was hard to deal with. That's where this board helped out so much! Anyway, I am very happy to announce that our little boy was born 3 weeks early on January 31 and was a perfectly healthy 6 lb, 10 oz and 18.5 inches with a full head of hair! Thanks to everyone who shared their stories, and I hope mine helps offer some encouragement as well.

Hi all. I am another that has read faithfully, but only posted once. I am very happy to report another healthy baby born. Nina's spot was identified at our 20 week US. Thankfully, after much worry she was born happy, healthy, and full of sa__s! Thanks to everyone who posted their stories, and yes even worries, it helped me by reading this board. I hope I help the next round of mommies. Good luck!!! Shela

My 20 week u/s back in September identified an EIF on my baby's heart which brought my DS odds to 1/1250. I opted out of the amnio and instead found much comfort in this forum. I vowed to enjoy my pregnancy, which I did, but I also read many DS boards in the event my baby was born with downs so that I could have some knowledge. My son was born 100% healthy in February and I wanted to post for those pregnant moms and dads that are reading this site today wondering about their soft marker. Good luck.

I am very thankful to have found this message board, along with everyone else on here looking for some rea__surance. I am now 37 weeks and 2 days along and I have to say that since my 21 week level II, when the nurse told me that my son had the EIF, I have not enjoyed my first pregnancy the way I should have. Since that day - November 21st, 2007, I was filled with anxiety and sleepless nights worrying about how I would take care of a DS baby. I researched so much on the internet since my doctor or the sonographer didn't give me any information on what it was. When I found out (through my own research) that it was a soft marker for DS, I was filled with anxiety. Finally I found this site and everything I read is very positive and rea__suring. This was the only marker they found and everything else is good. I still worry as my due date draws nearer and nearer, but all I can hope for is the best. Thank you all so much for your positive stories!

Our doctor told us the echogenic foci spot will most likely be removed from the DS soft marker list next year. He said they see the spot in almost 100% of Asian children as well as a large number of non-Asian children. As long as its the only soft marker there is no cause for concern. It may be removed because it only stresses the mother out! Usually the spot is gone by the end of the pregnancy.

Hi everyone - as always, thank you again for the positive posts...I have just started Week 38 and the anxiety is back in full force. I find myself for hours reading other forums as well as more journals. I think the fact that we will know soon is making it a little bit harder for me right now - it is not as easy to think positively. Wanted to check how 'worriedbecky' made out with her quad screen? Do let us know.

Addy, I am 38 weeks and 4 days today and I am very nervous too. I went for awhile feeling pretty confident that things would be ok, but now that I am close to my due date, I feel very anxious. Everytime I try to talk to someone about my feelings, they get invalidated, which doesn't help. Everyone is asking me if I am excited and they don't understand why I say I am nervous. The only comfort I get is this forum, thank god. Good luck to you, I sure we will be both fine.

Jtomlinson - I hear you alright...there are times I read all the positives, log off, and feel great and wonder even why I have wasted so many hours and tears! Then there are days I read one bad story or start thinking negatively, and I am consumed. It really took away alot of happiness that should go along with having a baby. Do you still discuss the focus finding with your OB or have they also told you it is 'nothing to worry about' ?

Hi Addy, like you, I visit this post every time I feel nervous about the "spot". I inquire about it every time I see someone new, such as a nurse or another doctor that I haven't seen before, just to see what they have to say about it. My OBGYN is very dismissive and thinks that I am worrying for nothing. The other med staff that I talk to have given me rea__suring info since my prenatal screening was good and everything else is pretty much "textbook". Still, until I deliver, I will never feel 100% satisfied. I guess, when I start to feel negative, I remember that the baby is moving, growing, hiccuping, etc... I also suffer from an anxiety disorder, so I have a tendency to think the worst, it's been a huge problem with my pregnancy (probably not your case), so this adds additional worry for me. I am on medication for it (another thing to worry about), but I can't cope without it. The waiting (even if it's a couple of weeks) is killer!