Ultrassound not so good....Advice Please

Brookeisready · December 2011

Ok so I had my Ultrasound the other day and we found out that we are having a BOY!!! Big Smile and couldnt be happier, but they also found a Calcium Deposit on the babys heart which the doc said is a indicator for Downs Syn.....My blood work put me at a risk of 1:3000 chance of baby being born with downs and after the U/S its now 1:1000. I know to some that this is still a high ratio but Im still concerned. I was told that I could have a amnio to confirm 100% but considering it would not change my decision either way I dont think I should do it. Can anyone please tell me if they had this happen to them or anyone that they know.....Im just uncertain on whether I want to do it...but if that is the case shouldnt I be prepared?

Im only 30 and this is my first child I just would like other mama's advice to help me in the right direction!

Married since Feb 2011 to my DH together since 1999!

DS EDD 05/12/2012

Brooke827 · December 2011

Im sorry your going through this. My husband is a carrier for Fragile X (which is like downs in a sense). When pregnant with baby#1 they offered me an amnio to tell if the baby had it, it we had a girl the chance would be 50%. We declined because it wouldn't have changed how I love the LO. We ended up having a boy, a healthy angel with no problems. I hope you do whatever you feel right and that everything works out.

FyreFlyeRush · December 2011

An amnio is scary, but updated statistics show the chance of miscarriage due to amnio is 1:1600. You're already worried about it. Can you make it through the next 20 weeks not knowing 100%? I'm 34, and my odds were 1:165 before the scan, and 1:650 after the scan. I still did the amnio. I really like knowing the results.

Your numbers look great, IMO, but if you're worried, and you know it's going to worry you, you should consider the peace of mind an amnio will bring. Like I said, it's a scary procedure, I won't lie. But, there's more reasons to test than termination. It can also help you prepare. GL, and know whatever choice you make is the right one. (HUGS)

jordan_nb · December 2011

My cousin had the exact same thing happen to her about 3 weeks ago, her ratios were almost EXACTLY the same. Given there is no family history on either side and that she is 28 the doctor said he wouldn't suggest the amnio unless she really wanted it. She ended up getting it because she didn't want to stress, got her results back a couple days ago and baby is perfectly healthy. Just wanted to share that story with you! GL making a decision. I personally probably wouldn't get one done with those ratios.

huntertwin · December 2011

This happened to me too.. this is my first pregnancy, and at the A/S the other day, the doctor saw a spot on of of the twins' hearts, but it was only visible in some pictures. He said that, worst case scenario, it's Down's. We have not had any genetic testing.

We're not pursuing it any further.. it was definitely unsettling, but the doctor said the chances of Down's are extremely low (especially since there are no other indicators) and that paired with the fact that we intend to keep the baby if it has Down's, he said not to worry and not to do further tests. I am an incredibly anxious worrier/planner/overanalyzer, but this I'm not too worried about. If everything else checks out fine, try not to worry.

ashleym373 · December 2011

The same thing was found in my a/s u/s as well. Luckily, I had the nt scan and my results for that came back at 1:>10,000. The doctor who came in to redo the a/s (not my midwife) said when she was pregnant with her daughter they found a calcium deposit in her heart as well, she is perfectly healthy. If I didn't get the nt scan I probably would have been nervous about the finding, but between those results and the doctors reassurance I am not concerned. I did some research and this happens in 3-5% of regular pregnancies. They usually disappear in the 3rd trimester. Someone on another board was told they would rescan in a few weeks, I was not told this, but I do plan on asking at my next appointment.

fryrat · December 2011

My SIL found out that my neice had a spot on her brain, indicating trisomy 18, they told her the baby wouldn't live past 24 hours after birth. They freaked out, but did not do the amnio, because of the bedrest requirement, and the other risks with doing it. She was born completely normal. No one knows what the spot was, but it was totally gone by the time she was born.

DrRx · December 2011

I had my a/s scan last Wednesday and they found this same spot on my baby's heart. I think that he called it an EIF (echogenic intracardiac focus). The perinatologist told us that it is a soft marker for Down's.

We did the AFP Quad screen blood test before the A/S, which came back with a 1 in 9994 (0.00010%) chance of having DS. With this marker, the chance of diagnosing this baby with DS went to 1 in 5552 (0.00018%). So, the chance just changed by 0.00008%. He said that since there were no other soft markers found (ie, in the brain, kidney's, club feet, etc) he would not recommend the Amnio. The reason being that the chance for a miscarriage with an amnio is about 1 in 200 (0.005%) which, while also still low, is not as low as the risk of diagnosing DS.

We are getting a fetal echocardiogram in about 3 weeks since we are having an IVF baby, and IVF babies (particularly those that are IVF with ICSI) may have a slightly higher risk of heart defects.

Here's a link to EIF on wikipedia. It is exactly what the perinatologist told us. That in it of itself will not cause any problem to the heart and it is only a soft marker. It is just more concerning when you see several soft markers show up and the blood work comes back not so great.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echogenic_intracardiac_focus

Divashrink1982 · December 2011

I'm so sorry that you're going through this. It doesn't feel good to hear that something major could be wrong with your little one. I got similar news today. For me, I decided to go ahead with the amnio because the risk of the amnio was considerably less than the possible risk of chromosomal abnormalities for my little guy (1 in 300 vs. 1 in 20). Even though I don't think that things will change - I want to know because I want to know what I am dealing with. With that being said, it sounds like your risk factor overall is still very good. It is definitely a personal decision that I think has pros and cons - you need to do what you think is best for you and your LO.

blueshamrock7 · December 2011

Sorry, no advice to give... but my thoughts & prayers are with you and your LO. Good luck with everything!

fyziksgirl · December 2011

I am so sorry you are going through this If it were me I think I would decline amnio (I say I think b/c I'm not in your shoes and we can never know what we'd do til we're actually there). It's just not worth a 1 in 200 risk of losing my baby, who I already love so much, to me to know, especially if my risk of DS was still only 1:1000. If I was going to carry to term either way I'd rather just monitor using u/s and see what comes up in the future to prepare. Yes, if the amnio is successful and I don't lose my LO the peace of knowing would be nice, but if the amnio caused me to lose my baby I would never, ever, ever forgive myself. Especially since there would still be a 99.9% chance of everything being fine, whether I lost the baby or not. Losing my baby for no reason other than peace of mind is far more scary for me to imagine (and far more likely) than being worried for 20 more weeks and my baby having DS.

Good luck to you, and ::hugs::

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