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Wailing, I had an abnormal quad screen result, but so far no u/s markers after 2 level 2 u/s. I had decided after the first one that I would not do an amnio unless a defiinite diagnosis was needed by my OB for delivery. She said it was irrelevant whether she knows or not, but the important thing in making the decision to do/not do the amnio was whether I thought I could wait until June without driving myself crazy. To ME the small risk of a complication from doing the amnio outweighed confirming does she/doesn't she have DS. I felt that I could wait and not drive myself nuts. BUT you should do what is best for YOU. Being pregnant is a time to be happy and hopeful, if doing the amnio will put your mind at ease, then by all means you should do it. Everyone is going to have their own opinion about what you should do. Do what is best for YOU and don't feel like you have to justify your decision to anyone. Good luck and know that most of the cases result in a perfectly healthy newborn.

I had the white spot on my son's heart. we found this when i was 18 weeks pregnant and also he had a cyst. So with two marks, i was so worried and i went for amnio. The result of amnio came good. My son is about 7 months old now. He is very healthy boy. I would tell everyone not to worry about it. Enjoy your pregnancy. It is the time for enjoy. I really appreciate the emotional support i got from this forum. Thanks for all the moms who have given me the strength. The medical is getting more advanced but there are more studies to be done about these marks. The ultrasound machines they have now is very advanced but they have very little studies about the marks and how much they contribute to DS. I am sure all of your baby will be healthy. My prayers go to all of you.

Thank you all for answering my questions and helping me feel reassured. I also had a good conversation w/ my OB about all the results and she calmed me also. I guess it's just a new mothers instinct to worry alot!

My baby has the echogenic focus and the maternal fetal medicine doctor said that baby looks great and he said that my odds were not increased because of this isolated marker. He offered me the amnio but I didn't want it so I took the quad screen instead and got my results wednesday. It came back negative for down syndrome with the odds of 1 and 21,000. That makes me feel so much better. I know the test isn't always accurate but the doctors reassurance and those results have eased my mind and I am no longer worried. I'm sure everything will be fine for all of us. My second son also had this spot on his heart and he is almost 6 and very healthy. no down syndrome.

hi ,dear rubi i congratulate your son and feel very happy that you have no more stress any more i am 32 weeks pregnant and same as you they have been detect two soft sign which is one EIFand cyst in the brain i had amino test which is came back normal 46xx but still some times i feel uncomfortable and feeling more stress and scared i am glad that i have hear your baby is healthy i hope the same thing for my self and other ladies who are in the same stress could you tell me after birth do they check the baby for the heart and brain to check the soft sign or not are the sign still there or being resolved if you visit the forum i will be very glad to hear from you thanks hosna

Well, add me to the list. I had my 22 week scan where dr. found EIF in the left ventricle of my daughter's heart. He is my high risk OB and not my regular OB and has terrible bedside manner and offered me little reassurrance other than my normal AFP 1:1700 for ds. I'm 25. He also said that these are not uncommon but they can also mean a hole in the heart. He did not recommend amnio and said to get it only if I need peace of mind. I would not even consider it. So I love the assurance of reading the positive outcomes of these posts and I am hoping to make it through the next grueling 18 weeks with a positive outcome of my own. It is so scary.

Hi, i have never posted before, but I came to this forum a lot when I was pregnanat with my son. He was found with three spots in his heart when I was 19 mo's pregnant. I was terrified! I read and re-read all of your posts often, particularly those who followed up with news of their healthy babies. It helped me to read those, so I am posting that in July I gave birth to a very heatly, altert, happy baby boy. He is now 7 months and as bright as can be. I hope this helps someone.

For everyone concerned about the echogenic foci I would like to mention that these "bright spots" are more commonly seen in ultrasounds than most people realize and according to many doctors they think they should be not considered a marker for downs and are considered a "soft marker". My daughter just gave birth on Feb 2, 2007 to a healthy normal baby and she unneededly worried for the second 20 weeks of her pregancy because they had found an EIF in her 20 week ultrasound. No other markers were found but it always remained in the back of her mind that there could remotely be a chance of Downs. Since they felt that they wouldn't terminate the pregancy regardless, the decided not to test any further and therefore did not go for aminiocentisis. These test are a double edge sword. They sometime just tell us enough to make us a nervous wreck , but are always conclusive. However with research on the EIF and talkign to many people , I have found that EIF ususally are of no concern and do not even have any affects on the heart afterwards. So try to relax and enjoy your pregancy ladies.

HI EVERYBODY,
I JUST GAVE BIRTH ON 3/1/07 TO A HEALTHY BABY BOY 7POUNDS 20.5 INCHES ,
I ALSO WORRIED ALOT DURING MY PREGNANCY BUT THANKS TO GOD EVERYTHING WENT OK.
I WILL ALSO CONTINUE PRAYING FOR ALL OF YOU AND YOUR BABIES. JUST REMEMBER GOD IS BIG, BELIEVE IN HIM.

I just found out that my baby has an echogenic foci as well and am worried sick. The only thing that has made me feel better is this forum, so thank you to all who post. It seems that everyone who has worried about it has ended up having healthy babies, so I guess we should all hold on to that!

i am 19 years old and 26 weeks pregnant with my second child my 3 year is a healthy bight girl . i found out when i was 16 weeks my baby had a eif i am worried sick should i be thier were no other makers found.i cant stop thinking about it i read about it every day please help someone i am so stress out i think i am harming my baby .

Bridgett, stop worrying, your baby is fine! I can practically guaranty you that based on an eif alone, your baby is perfectly healthy. I can relate to your pain, because I went through it , but my son who is 5 weeks old now is healthy and fine. My sister in law who is an OB ultrasound tech and has been doing it for 11 years said that if it just an eif alone, she has stopped putting it in her reports because she has NEVER had a case where something was wrong with the baby, and it just freaks the moms out. Relax and enjoy your pregnancy, I know it is easy for me to say because mine is over, but have faith. There is no strong research to prove that an isolated eif is indicitive of something wrong, it is based on a weak study which alot of doctors are already discounting. Good luck and keep us posted.

emunah , thanks so much for the advice . Some imes i feel like if my baby is born with down syndrom i would not know how to explain it to my 3 year old i might sound crazy but i go to church and try to keep up my faith but sometimes i ask god why did he pick my baby to ba sick and its not even for sure she has down syndrom i feel like i dont live a normal life for thinking about it so much i am a nervous reak

I went through EXACTLY the same thoughts and feelings. Your baby does not have downs, there has to be many more indications before they would even consider it. Rest up and keep well. emunah.

Well I went for my follow up appt today after finding the EIF and it is still there but I am no longer concerned about it. My second child had this and he is perfectly normal and very healthy. I don't know why I even let this bother me this go round. the perinatologist that I saw said that there are just doctors out there trying to make a name for them selves. Most doctors are not even considering an isolated EIF as a marker for downs anymore. Today the doctor told me that he sees about 30 patients a day and sees at least one EIF a day. That is actually a lot if you think about it. He also said that he has never seen a woman who had just an EIF have a baby with downs. Have some faith ladies. Everyone's baby is fine.

I found out at 19 weeks that my baby has an EIF and I have to go back in 5 weeks for a follow up ultrasound. Does anyone know what they will be looking for then? What if it has gotten bigger? I don't want to stress about this for the next 20 weeks, but it seems so hard not to think about it! Thanks again to everyone who posts on this forum and especially for the follow ups after your babies are born.