Big ultrasounded resulted in not so good news...EIF

chicagoirish

I was told my little angel had a bright spot on his/her heart. The short word for it is called EIF. It is a soft marker for Downs. I just turned 36 so they are bringing me in for further testing. There were no other markers for Downs. However my husband was very against the NT scan so we did not do any genetic testing. So all we know now is that we have this marker. Has anyone heard or experienced EIF?

irer

I am sorry you got bad news at your scan.  I haven't experienced this, but have heard of this marker. It is my understanding that usually if that is the only marker everything turns out fine.  I hope that gives you hope.  I think they are fairly common.  Good luck with the further testing, and I hope the wait isn't too long.

katiem1025

Our baby had one of these bright spots on her heart too but the tech and high risk doctor who read the scans and double checked her heart said that it used to be a marker for downs but now they only consider it a true marker if there are other markers as well. We did all the genetic testing and have a very low risk of downs, the nt scan measurements were normal, and all other measurements at our 20 week u/s were fine so the doctor was not concerned.

All you can do is wait for further testing and try not to worry about it.

expletive baby

One soft marker is usually not a big deal. We had one soft marker at our A/S (a funny crooked pinkie which I have dubbed "the creepy finger") but was told it was not indicative of Down's since all of my other hard markers and the NT scans all looked great. Chill until your further testing - stress won't help anything at this point.

kimmyt09

I had that with my 1st. It was gone when I went for a level 2 u/s about a week later. They are pretty common, you'll see at least one post a week about it.

 The midwife I was seeing at the time said in her entire career She had only had one case where the EIF turned out to be an actual marker of downs. 

Ladiebug710

They are very common 2-5% in Cacausion and African American populations and over 20% in people of Asian descent.  As far as soft markers go they are VERY soft.  Unless they see something else with it, they dont mean much at all.  They do not affect the structure or function of the heart in any way.  They are just there.

NT and quad screens are helpful in these cases because if your risk of Down was low to start with then one soft marker pretty much means nothing, but if it was high then it can be a little more concerning.  In your case they only have your age to go on, so your risk is already considered "high", and that is why they are sending you for additional testing.

Take a deep breath and hang in there.  FX that all is well.

olsentobe

With ds I was 27 at time of nt scan and everything was percent until 20 wk u/s where they found 3 soft markers for DOwns including the one your child has. We did opt to have an amino the next day. Thankfully everything was ok and we just had us every 4 wks from there and by 28 wks the spot in the heart had disappeared! I wish you all the best! I know how scary it can be! Hugs!!!

kmjbjg

Our baby has one too.  It is fairly common.  If your baby doesn't have any other markers, try not to stress about it.  The chances of the baby having Downs with one soft marker is slim, as I was told by the perinatologist at our level 2 ultrasound.

Here is a link with some info - https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/Images/GEN_US%20EIF%20handout_tcm63-9941.pdf

kelnyc

They found two on my baby's heart when we did our a/s, but because our bloodwork for the NT scan and the a/s were so great (literally, our risk of defects is so low, it's off the chart) they are not at all concerned. The spots, which are actually calcium deposits, are very, very common (1 in 10 caucasian mothers will see them) and usually mean nothing. They also don't affect the structure or function of the heart. We did the Verify (like MaterniT21) bloodwork just to be sure, but it was probably unneccessary (knock on wood) considering our adjusted risk, even with this finding, is only 1:15,200. Long story short, it's nothing to worry about until they tell you otherwise. Oh, and I'm 35, so that doesn't have much to do with it. GL!

Spiralfry

My 1st had a bright spot as well as an odd looking fingure and another soft marker at my 20 wk a/s as well. We did a follow up ultrasound 2 weeks later and the bright spot was gone. Her finger always looked odd on the ultrasound. She was born with no issues and actually was early in hitting her milestones. Even though my midwife told me not to worry at the time I was a nervous wreck until the follow up ultrasound.

mrsjenni

This is VERY COMMON.  Don't sweat it (easier said than done, I know.)  DD had this same thing and I worried for WEEKS for no reason at all.  She was perfectly healthy and there is not a thing wrong with her or her heart.

 Even though you're 36, only having one marker means it's highly unlikely that the baby has Down's.  You'll go in for a level II (which may even show the EIF has disappeared, but DD's never went away) and you'll also meet with a genetic counselor who will go over EVERYTHING with you.

Again, try not to worry... I'm sure you're baby is perfectly healthy in there! 

FamilyIsLove

We didn't have this soft-marker, but we did have CPC's, which are another soft-marker for Tri 18.  So, I know how stressed you are.  I cried many times after being given this news at our 17 wk a/s but after talking to other mom's who experienced the same and doing my research, I've come to realize that one marker usually means NOTHING.  I requested a follow-up scan (which is this coming Monday) to ensure baby was still looking perfectly healthy (basicallly for my peice of mind as the Dr's already told me they saw nothing else indicative of a problem).

On another note, my DD was born with two crooked pinkies (another soft-marker for Downs) -- if they would have saw them in her a/s, they would have told me then and I would have stressed for 20 wks.  Bottom line is that babies born with Downs or other trisomies often have these characteristics/indicators, but perfectly healthy babies have them too.  Hang in there...i know how you feel.

chazzgirl

We had a CP cyst at 18w1day.  At our level 2 u/s at 20w5days it was gone.  It was the only marker and my NT/quad gave us very low odds of there being an issue.  We opted for no other tests....

If I had gone in for my anatomy scan even two weeks later, I probably never would have seen it and been saved a lot of stress.

My mom, a NICU nurse, calls these soft markers variations on normal.  They prompt further investigation, but usually mean nothing.

Hang in there!

Fluff28

My daugther had a 'bright bowel', we went through all the additional tests and they all came out negative.  My cousin's son had multiple soft markers and was told he almost certainly had downs, she decided to forgo further testing and he turned out he was fine.  I hope the same for you!  I've only heard of these soft markers being false alarms, GL!

sjp

My daughter had that--she is now a healthy 2 1/2 year old--I freaked out at the time--I was 30.  They did a level II ultra sound and everything else seemed to be fine.  The dr (my current MFM also) at the time said that with new technology it is easier to see things they wouldnt have 10 years ago and that EIF are fairly common to the point that some drs have considered ruling them out as soft markerts.  I hope everything turns out ok--I know it is easier said than not to worry having been there myself.

pixieprincss

DS had an echogenic (intra)cardiac focus (ECF or EIF) on his heart at 19w. My doctor and our genetic counselor (we were seeing a GC for another issue) were not concerned at all. Apparently these bright spots are very common. In the Asian population, something like 30% of fetuses have them. While I am not Asian, it helped me understand what a non-issue this is in the absence of any other risk factors. I asked our dr what the follow-up was and he said nothing. He said if this was the old days when he could withhold info, he wouldn't even mention the spot because it is *that* not concerning to him. His phrasing was weird, but I appreciated his sentiment. Because of another issue, I ended up getting a second anatomy scan at 26 weeks and they saw that the spot had already resolved itself. LO was born perfectly healthy.

KaylaRene10

I was told the same thing yesterday and I have been a wreck since! I was so happy to read all of these responses that it typically means nothing. Thank you for giving me the peace of mind I needed. I am sure that everything will turn out for the best for both of us! Good luck!

 

 

mollybloom

olsentobe:

With ds I was 27 at time of nt scan and everything was percent until 20 wk u/s where they found 3 soft markers for DOwns including the one your child has. We did opt to have an amino the next day. Thankfully everything was ok and we just had us every 4 wks from there and by 28 wks the spot in the heart had disappeared! I wish you all the best! I know how scary it can be! Hugs!!!

This was similar to us. Only I was 33 and the baby had 5 soft markers for Downs. We had the amnio and she is a perfect 7 month old.

Mrs.RTH

Our baby had an EIF on the first ultrasound at 19 weeks. When they did another one less than two weeks later it was already gone. They said usually EIF's go away on their own and don't end up being anything to be concerned about, especially if they don't find any other problems.

FamilyIsLove

chazzgirl:

We had a CP cyst at 18w1day.  At our level 2 u/s at 20w5days it was gone.  It was the only marker and my NT/quad gave us very low odds of there being an issue.  We opted for no other tests....

If I had gone in for my anatomy scan even two weeks later, I probably never would have seen it and been saved a lot of stress.

My mom, a NICU nurse, calls these soft markers variations on normal.  They prompt further investigation, but usually mean nothing.

Hang in there!

OMG...i can't tell you how bad I wish I had waited to get my a/s later.  I don't even know why they scheduled it at only 17 wks but I had a bad feeling that having early was going to cause concern -- and it did.

I am going Monday for another u/s so I'll be interested to see if the CPCs are gone yet.  With my first, we did our a/s at 21 wks. For all we know, she had the CPC's too.

goldenleaves

Was that the only marker they saw?

My son showed an EIF on my 20 weeks scan and he is a typical 2 and half year old little boy!

Our daughter does have Down syndrome and showed an EIF but also had several other markers seen on her ultrasound. An amnio confirmed her diagnosis. She is amazing!

My OBs said that a single EIF is not even considered a soft marker at their facility because it is very common.

I understand this is a scary time, (((hugs))) and good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

Ashmay710

I don't know about EIF but I'm having a similar dilemma.  Last Thursday we had our 20 wk a/s.  We had to go to a high-risk doctor bc my husband's family has a history of spina bifida.  Her spine was great.  

But the doctor found a defect in the structure of the arteries in her heart called ARSA (aberrant right subclavial artery).  Thankfully, it is something most people live with and never even know they have and shouldn't cause her any problems.  The bad news is, it also shows up in 19-32% of people with DS.  This brought our odds from 1:10,000 to 1:625.  There is also a risk of DiGeorge syndrome.  Although she showed no other soft markers for Downs we weren't comfortable with our odds going that far up and the dr. recommended an amnio.

We are going for our amnio tomorrow.  I am more nervous than I've ever been about anything in my life but have faith that everything will turn out fine.  I hope all of your testing turns out well!! Sending positive thoughts your way!