I just went for my 5 month ultrasound and the doctor told me that my baby had a "white spot" on her heart, called echogenic cardiac foci. They said it was a marker for down syndrome and sent me to a specialist. The specialist found the same marker but no others and said "no worries". But... I am worried. Anyone else have this show up?

No, but I would be nervous as well. How scary and I feel for you. Have you found any information on the net? What did the specialist say other than not to worry?

If your baby does have Downs, do you think you will be able to prepare yourself now or will it just have to happen once the baby is born? Hard question I know. How old are you? Do you fall into the category where the rate increases for the baby to have a possible birth defect? I know I was worried sick when I was pregnant with my second child. I had an amnio done just to make sure they were correct with the ultrasound. I just had a bad feeling in my gut for the first 6 months of my pregnancy.

Good Luck! I pray everything is okay and you truely don't have anything to worry about! May the baby be well and happy.

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My daughter was born with a heart defect that is common among children with Downs, but she does not have Downs.

I know it's hard not to worry, but my guess is that if there are no other markers things are probably okay.

Talk to your regular OB, do some research...feel free to PM me if you want any information regarding children's heart issues.

I would request an Amniocentesis if possible, just to know for sure. Because I would want to be prepared. But if the doctor said no worries, thats a good sign too.

If the specialist says no worries, that I would try my hardest to listen to them since they really know what they are talking about. If it worries you, could you see another specialist? I would look at the risks of an Amniocentesis before you request it as I think it would be a little more invasive than another ultrasound with another specialist. But if you don't have the option, I'm sure it would be perfectly fine to have an Amnio. Did you take the test around 18-20 weeks that checked for spinal bifida and downs syndrom? We didn't since it has a 10% false positive rate and if there were any major problems we would hope to see them on the ultrasound - if she does have any problems, we will love her just the same and take every day one at a time.

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Mom to Kaylee (10/2006)
Waiting on our second bundle of joy to arrive January 2009!

Thanks for the replys, all. I had the Triple Screen and my ob said it came back normal, but the specialist said they told him it was abnormal. I have an appointment next Wednesday so I am going to talk to them about it again. They had called me about another test in the past saying all was fine and then I got a letter in the mail the same day saying that that test was not fine!

My husband is air force and all the guys in the squad are so great and always want to know the latest. This deal with the triple screen has gotten all the way up the line to the head of our on base hospital and he said he is "going to handle things now".

I am trying hard not to worry but my last two pregnancies had many problems and it's hard not to worry. Also I don't think I am one who could handle carrying for a special needs child - I just don't think I am strong enough - so I really want to know what is going on.

My dd had a different marker- a choroid plexus cyst- that was picked up on the 20 week ultrasound. No other markers were found, and my triple screen was fine, so everyone told me not to worry about. But you can't help worry. I chose not to have an amnio, since that increases the risk of miscarriage and wasn't going to change my plans anyway. I did a lot of searching on line at the time, and lots of people said their kids had one or two markers and were just fine; others said their kids had NO markers and were born with Downs.

The tech who did my ultrasound said that the high tech equipment now available is picking up tons more of these markers than they could detect in the past. But the only way to know for sure is to have the amnio done- that is the bottom line. If you are at the point of worry that is totally stressing you out ( especially with all the back and forth with your test results) you might want to have the amnio and have peace of mind one way or another. Please keep us posted; it's hard. HUGS.

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