34 Weeks and Echogenic Bowel came up on ultrasound...anyone else experience this?

kmurphy918 · August 2013

Hi All-

I'm 34 weeks and on my routine sonogram today they found what is called Echogenic Bowel or "poop" in the baby's stomach. Essentially my Doctor said that this could be a possible indicator of genetic issue...i.e downs. In my original screenings, I have ben tested for downs and the baby has tested negative.

Just wondering if anyone has had anything like this...any thoughts? Outcomes? Praying I still have a healthy baby on my hands!!

imakeeff0rts · August 2013

I haven't experienced it, but I hope that all turns out well for your and your LO.

luvboston · August 2013

My LO has this from drinking blood. Did they see anything on your anatomy scan. Do you have gene for cf?

msronzio · August 2013

No experience here. The pre-screens are not 100% accurate. You will typically get a "x in 100", "x in 1000" etc and so on estimate of the chance the baby has downs. I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this, good luck with everything. Sending lots of love your way

sydeh · August 2013

When I have my 20 week ultrasound they called me and told me that they found an Echogenic Foci in her heart. It's a bright spot on the ultrasound indicating that the issue there is harder than the surrounding areas. they also told me it was an indicator for Down's. I went to a perinatal center and had a more extensive test done and talked to a genetics counselor. Even though it is an indicator for Down's it's considered a soft indicator meaning that if that's the only issue they found-and no other Down's indicators were indicated then the likelihood that your baby has Down's is slim to none. Ultrasounds are so advanced these days and so clear that these types of spots show up rather regularly now. I went for the more extensive tests simply for peace of mind and the likelihood that she had Down's in my situation was 1 in 780.

lvnbraves · August 2013

Echogenic bowel is also a marker for Cystic Fibrosis. Were you screened to see if you were a carrier? If not, you should do that ASAP. It's a simple blood test for you. If you are a carrier then your DH/BF should also be tested. If you are both carriers, there is a 1 in 4 chance that your baby will have CF.

I don't know if you were making it simple, but it's generally not in the stomach but in the intestines or actually in the bowel.

DS was born with a blockage in his small intestines, had surgery when he was 2 days old and is now almost 3 years old, living with CF, no additional bowel issues and doing great. It's scary, but not the end of the world.

Either way, it's mandatory in all 50 states now to do a newborn screen for CF, so if you're in the US, your child will be tested at birth. The only way to definitively test now is through amnio.

Fingers crossed for a healthy baby for you. Please feel free to PM me if you have other questions.

WeeGee619 · September 2013

Had this show up on our 20 week scan, my dr said it could be
1) soft marker for downs (did maternit21 blood test, negative for downs)
2) cf - not a carrier
3) infection - took blood work, negative
4) baby swallowed blood making the bowel brighter on sonogram

I was then monitored via sonogram every visit... Echogenic bowel was gone by 28 week sonogram

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34 Weeks and Echogenic Bowel came up on ultrasound...anyone else experience this?

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