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I decided not to have the blood testing with this pregnancy and my last one. I have heard too many stories of false "positives". I didn't want to risk the chance of being worried for nothing. But now I wish I would have done it. Thank you for your positive messages and I will let you know how my u/s goes on Thurs.

Hello everyone. I want to tell you my story. I am 34 years old and I will be two months shy of 35 when my baby is born next year. I am 19 weeks. My AFP Quad test came back 1:35 for Downs. The nuchal fold ultrasound and 4-D ultrasound were normal, however, the LEVEL II ultrasound showed an echogenic focus in the left ventricle, a soft marker for Downs, bringing my odds to 1:21. I had an amnio done on Monday and I anxiously and nervously await the results. I had a false-positive AFP result three years ago with my son too and the amnio showed no genetic abnormalities. I am so frustrated with prenatal testing and the stress it causes mothers everywhere. I pray the amnio results come in well today or tomorrow. Dawn

hi all, christmas greetings from Australia!!!!! this really is scary stuff!! i had nt scan and was told 1/38 chance of having downs baby, had cvs told baby was fine with 46 crom. had 20 week us and told baby has calcium on heart and this is a downs soft marker??? ive already had cvs and all was fine so why burden me with the news of ef spot? i am really quiet pissed off considering they are the care givers and they really should take a good look at how they converse with mums and be certian of there pregnancy history before they scare the shit out of you and add more anxiety and worry to the pregnancy... 30 yr old -24 weeks pregnant

This is Dawn again updating this post. I was told, following the AFP, that we had a 1:38 risk for Downs. We had a level II ultrasound that revealed an echogenic focus in the left ventricle, which heightened the risk for Downs to 1:20. We then had an amnio, which yielded no Downs. I just wanted to report this news since I was very worried and the doctors didn't make us any less worried with all the testing.

Hi! I am 36 years old in my 18th week expecting my 6th child. Today I went for an ultrasound which revealed a calcaium in the left side of our baby boy's heart. I was told that this occurs in 30-40% of Downs babies and 3-4% of babies without Downs. I did not see my regular doctor (only the doctor at the ultrasound clinic). Everything else seems fine with baby (kidneys, neck, femer, etc.). I am really looking forward to seeing my own dotor. I will phone him tomorrow to set up an appointment. I am so glad that I found this site, it has helped me to know what to ask my doctor about (boodtests, follow up U/S, etc.). I have a lot more questions, but I am so glad that this site was here when I was feeling worried.

This is an update from a week ago. I went in to see the dr. and did a 4-D u/s. He took a lot of measurements and said that he doesn't see anything to worry about. He did say that we could go ahead and do the amnio. but it only increases your risk of loosing the baby. We decided not to because he really didn't have any concerns. I think that doctors still have to give the option of an amnio. but don't encourage it if there isn't any clear signs of ds on a more indepth u/s. He measure the thickness of the skin on the back of the neck and looked for large gaps between the big toe and the other toes. And said everything looked great! We are very happy and are nerves are more settled! Good luck to the others that are waiting for their u/s. You are in my prayers.

Have had another u/s and was shown that the spots were still there. Sonogropher said she sees these all the time and unless there are other indicators, I am at low risk to having a Downs baby. Feel very confident everything will be ok. Merry Xmas to all!!

Hi,
I am 34, at 20 weeks in my second pregnancy and they just found an echogenic focus in the baby's heart. My nuchal transluency came back negative with 1:1950 (original was 1:3500 and was risk adjusted due to the echogenic focus), Expanded AFP screening also came back negative with 1in 333 (risk adjusted from actual reading of 1:600). I have had 2 ultrasounds and everything else came back normal. No family history of down and the doctor still considers me low risk. I am in a dilemma whether I should do an amnio or not. I am terrified of a miscarriage due to amnio and am almost positive i don't want to do it. I want to find out if anyone with just the ecogenic focus and no other markers or abnormal tests had an amnio that came back positive for Down's or had a baby with DS? Good Luck to everyone and I hope all babies are healthy

Hi Amehrok....At my 18 week ultrasound I had the same thing- an echogegic foci on the heart. They adjusted my odds of having a DS baby to 1/700. Miscarriage rate with the amnio is 1/200. So my reasoning for not getting the amnio is how can I think I would be the 1 in 700 to have down synd. but not be the 1/200 to have a miscarriage. My doctor also did not recommend an amnio either- she advised that she has never seen Just and EF result in DS. I can say that it tough not knowing 100%- it kind of stripped me of some of the joys of pregnancy. My son was born 7/31 and is perfectly healthy. Good Luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience and congratulations on a healthy baby. I think every pregnancy is a miracle. I was leaning against amnio for the smae reasons but my husband and I decided that it was going to be too stressful for us to not know 100% so I had the amnio done today. So far no issues. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the results come back normal. From everyone's experiences on this board I am very hopeful. I have all of you in the same situation in my prayers and please keep me in yours.

Just wanted to post an update for everyone. My amnio results came back normal so there is hope out there ladies. Good Luck to everyone.

Wonderful news amehrok! Enjoy your pregnancy! I went for a follow-up u/s and another EIF was spotted on the right ventricle this time. Dr and obs/gyn say they are looking more like calcium deposits then anything else. Both EIF on on cordinae tendons which is the pappillion muscle on heart. My baby's heart is correct size for gestation and is very strong. There is no fluid around heart. Go for another follow-up u/s at 36 weeks. I am now 30 weeks. I found out about EIF at 20 weeks. This is a long pregnancy! As always, am very hopeful everything will be tip top.

Hello everyone I just wanted to try and provide a little reassurance to all those expectant mothers. My baby was diagnosed with having echogenic foci in both ventricles at 20 weeks. I was completely distraught and even though my consultant told me I was not at high risk for downs I went to pieces. I am delighted to share the news that I had a beautiful, healthy baby girl on the 5th of Jan! Please take comfort from this and don't read all those negative articles on the internet. I think the foci are normal and if you pray you will get help from God. Enjoy your pregnancy, you are helping God create life!

I love hearing stories like yours BarbaraOC. Thanks for posting. The reassurance level has gone up from reading your post. All the best for you and your family : )

Hello..I last wrote a couple of months ago about our Afp tests coming back abnormal and about the spot they found on her heart, I am happy to report that we had a healthy baby girl on Dec 17th. She is such a little miracle and I wish that I had enjoyed the pregnancy more instead of worrying so much. Good luck to all of you and God bless.

Hey,
I just has a ultrasound yesterday and I am 20 weeks pregnant and 25yrs. old.
They found a foci spot on my babies heart as well. They really think it is nothing to worry about expecially since it is located in one of the bottom chambers fo the heart. My husband and I are really depressed and anxious about what this could possibly mean for our baby. At this point we have opted out of doing an amnio and my doctors really aren't pushing for us to have the amnio b/c they believe that the baby is normal expecially since there seem to be no other visual markers for down syndrome.
However, we are having another ultrasound in 4 weeks just to monitor it and also they say that sometimes these foci can go away as time progress.
Anyway, I completely understand where you are coming from expecially when all you can do it sit and wait unti the baby is born to know the fate of them. I will be praying for you and your baby, please do the same for us.
Thanks