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High-Risk Pregnancy
marchbride32407
member
Intro and question about 2 vessel cord and brain cyst
marchbride32407
member
It looks like I will be officially joining ths board. I am 18 weeks pregnant and found out today at our anatomy scan that we are having a little girl. We were at a high risk doctor with a "serial" ultrasound (due to a SCH that appears to now be gon.) We found out that there is a cyst on our baby's brain (that they said many times resolves on its own) and that we have a 2 vessel cord. They said if each item was isolated, they wouldn't be worried. However, with both of these, they are concerned about a chromosomal abnormality (most likely Downs). We had the NT Scan at 12 weeks and came back with 1/10,000 odds of having a baby with DS. I think the odds for Trisomy 18 were about 1/6000 or so. The baby was very active and had no other markers (Nuchael measurement was great, nasal bone, femur, etc). The doctor gave us the option of amnio and said are risks of chromosomal abnormalities/Downs are raised to 1 to 2 %. They are waiting until 22 weeks to get a better view of the heart (they couldn't see much today). We would like to know what to expect, but can't stand the thought of putting our baby at risk at all with an amnio. Do you have any experience or suggestions with amnio and these types of "soft" markers? Thanks in advance for any advice. We are worried sick and really don't know what to do.
DD1 June 2011
DD2 Due January 2015
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Intro and question about 2 vessel cord and brain cyst
Hello.
I have no experience with this but just wanted to refer to you about a post below if you haven't already seen it: https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/48996094.aspx regarding a two vessel cord.
I hope that all goes well for you.
Hi! I didn't have the same situation...but similar. We found at our 20 week scan that we have a 2 vessel cord as well as a short femur and short humerous. We went immediately to the perinatologist who did a more detailed scan and came up with the same findings, but no additional issues. He explained that having 3 markers for Downs (femur, humerus, and cord) was significant, but that our chances of having a healthy baby still were great. We did opt to have the amnio because we needed to know, but of course this is a very personal decision. Thankfully (I've never been so thankful in my life), everything came back wonderfull...no chromosomal problems. We're still keeping an eye on growth due to the cord issue, but we're SO much less worried since we did the amnio. Just our experience, if that helps.
Hope all turns out well: I'm sure it will!
At our 20-week growth scan, we found out that our DD had the same two soft markers. And, my NST results were the same as yours. Our doctor said that each soft marker causes your NST statistics to cut in half, so we went from a 1/10,000 chance of DS to a 1/2,500 chance of DS. Those odds still seemed pretty good to me, so we didn't have the amnio (also b/c amnio's in twin pregnancies can put the other baby in harm's way).
Because of these soft markers, we did do the fetal echo, and that turned up fine. I also was monitored with u/s a bit more frequently b/c the 2-vessel cord (also called single umbilical artery or SUA) can lead to IUGR and smaller babies. But, our DD always measured great, and was at times measuring bigger than DS. In the end, our babies were born at 36w4d (which is practically full term for twins) due to my rising BP, and she was perfect--weighing in at 5 lbs, 5oz.
I also was just advised that my baby has a 2 vessel cord. With me my DS test a 12 weeks came back with me being in the increased risk odds. At my 19 week scan on Monday we did a fetal echo and had an extensive u/s. Everything besides the SUA is measuring good. They gave us the option to have an amnio but the odds at having a miscarriage or damage to the baby were the same as my odds of having DS therefore I decided not to have the amnio b/c no matter what we are going to carry the baby. But the amnio is a very personal decision that is entirely up to you. My Dr said that he will monitor me closely with multiple u/s and echo's to ensure that the baby s growing at a good rate. I have to go back in 4 weeks since the heart was still to small to really see much, it did however look normal at my 19 week visit.
Please keep me posted. I am just as nervous and in the same situation. Best fo luck!!
Hi!
We had an increased chance of Downs and our baby girl has a 2 vessel cord. We did opt to do the Amnio because we wanted to be prepared in case our baby did have Downs or any other abnormality.
The Amnio did not hurt. It was more of an emotional rollercoaster leading up to it. Our Perinatologist performs Amnios all day and has a very good record.
All in all, the procedure was over in less than 5 minutes and we received good results within 1 week. It was definitely worth it for us.
Good Luck on whatever you decide.
Thank you so much for the responses. We are feeling a bit better today. We still haven't completely decided on the amnio, but are leaning towards waiting. We don't feel a peace about doing it yet, so we aren't doing it until we feel sure about it. For now, we are waiting until the 22 week fetal echocardiagram. If that shows problems with the heart, we will probably do the amnio. We may change our minds between now and then, but we want to wait until we aren't so emotional about it to decide. PP, thanks for letting me know what your doctor said about each soft marker cutting your odds in half. That would make me 1/2500 also. My doctor said 1/100, but I kinda wonder if she was taking our NT Scan into account (she said she would, but now I'm questioning). Either way, we know we wouldn't terminate the pregnancy and I feel like we will know more at the 22 week ultrasound. I'm praying the cysts are gone. The two vessel cord scares me since the baby may not be getting as many nutrients, but it's just something I have to learn to deal with.
I'm thankful for this community and although no one chooses to be high risk, I look forward to the support and opportunity to share our stories.
Two other things I forgot to mention:
The first is that when I was born (34+ years ago), I also had a 2-vessel cord, and obviously, I've survived and become a normal human being. Back then, they didn't have ultrasond, but I stopped growing around 32 weeks, and my mom delivered me at 36 weeks. My mom's dr. inspected my cord to see if he could identify why i stopped growing, and he wrote in my medical records that I had a 2-vessel cord, although he didn't note that thta was the cause of my IUGR. In any case, even back then it still wasn't that big of a deal.
Second, after the initial u/s revealed our DD's soft markers and we did the fetal echo, none of my dr's ever mentioned the SUA or cyst again. They really weren't concerned b/c the chances of something being wrong were so low. I was much more worried than they were. I did have an extra u/s but that was mostly b/c I was having twins and had other issues going on not related to the SUA or cyst. One of my dr's said that he didn't even want to tell us about the two soft markers but by law, they have to.
Hi there, I see you have a healthy baby now! I have the same diagnosis you did with the 2 vessel cord and cyst at 19 weeks. Did you ever have the amnio? I am trying to debate about having one as I would rather be at peace than be a wreck the next 4 months. My screen showed 1/400 for DS and 1/10,000 for 18 and I am older at 37.
Thanks!!
KH