Ultrasound for week 22 was completed yesterday. Had the echocardiogram with the specialist looking on. Baby still has two holes (VSDs) in the heart, one of which is "pretty likely" to heal up on its own - maybe even before baby is born. The other has a smaller chance of doing that, but the good news is that it's small enough that it shouldn't require surgery. And they won't get bigger than they already are.
The EIF (calcium spot) is not a concern to the cardiologist or anyone else, either. It is not likely to have any effect on the heart's function.
It sounded great, looked great, and all other baby parts are normal and healthy. Baby weighed one pound, one ounce yesterday. No idea how "big" he/she is because there isn't enough room for baby to really stretch out anymore. Measurements would be inaccurate. They had estimated the growth rate at around the 77th percentile from the previous (week 19) ultrasound though.
The doctor expects baby to grow to full term without further complications, but just to be sure I will have another ultrasound in six to seven weeks. Careful what you wish for!!! I signed up for the gall bladder research so I could get more ultrasounds and see the baby more. With the complications, I have had the opportunity (already) to see more of my baby than most women get in their whole pregnancies.
Showing posts with label eif. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eif. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Shot Through the Heart
I saw eleventy-billion pictures of my baby yesterday. Moving, kicking, squirming, and hiding its face with crossed arms. And hiding its sex with crossed legs (so THERE...baby doesn't want to be identified).
But they saw something on the ultrasound they didn't like. My brilliant husband noticed it too, and he immediately asked, "What is that bright spot in the baby's heart?" The ultrasound technician sort of waived it off as if it were nothing, but then the doctor called us back in.
The bright white was a calcium deposit, known as an Echogenic Intracardiac Focus, or EIF. He said that EIF is a fetal marker for Down Syndrome. Although I had the blood test a few weeks ago and it came up normal, those tests tend to miss approximately 20% of all known cases. We have the option of doing an amniocentesis (where they stick a large needle through my abdomen and draw some of the amniotic fluid around the baby) to get an accurate reading and know for sure, but the risk includes miscarriage at a rate of 1 in 200. The risk of actually having DS is about the same, maybe a little higher. My question is, what would knowing do for us? It wouldn't change the diagnosis, and it certainly wouldn't change our decision to keep our baby. So to me, it isn't worth the risk.
The other thing that was noted on the baby's heart was what is known as a Ventricular Septal Defect, or VSD. This is basically a hole in baby's heart in the muscle between the left and right ventricles. It means very little now because all of the baby's blood is being filtered by my heart. But after birth, the oxygenated blood will mix with and displace the de-oxygenated blood, causing some potentially long-term problems. The problem could fix itself, or baby might need surgery before the age of two. That is more of a wait-and-see thing. Here's a picture of normal versus not normal:
Here's hoping that hole they saw isn't very large (really, what is 3mm in the grand scheme of things?) and that it will repair itself.
I am scheduled for another ultrasound in two weeks, this time with a greater focus on the heart. I was just so excited to see it beating, that I don't even care about anything else.
But they saw something on the ultrasound they didn't like. My brilliant husband noticed it too, and he immediately asked, "What is that bright spot in the baby's heart?" The ultrasound technician sort of waived it off as if it were nothing, but then the doctor called us back in.
The bright white was a calcium deposit, known as an Echogenic Intracardiac Focus, or EIF. He said that EIF is a fetal marker for Down Syndrome. Although I had the blood test a few weeks ago and it came up normal, those tests tend to miss approximately 20% of all known cases. We have the option of doing an amniocentesis (where they stick a large needle through my abdomen and draw some of the amniotic fluid around the baby) to get an accurate reading and know for sure, but the risk includes miscarriage at a rate of 1 in 200. The risk of actually having DS is about the same, maybe a little higher. My question is, what would knowing do for us? It wouldn't change the diagnosis, and it certainly wouldn't change our decision to keep our baby. So to me, it isn't worth the risk.
The other thing that was noted on the baby's heart was what is known as a Ventricular Septal Defect, or VSD. This is basically a hole in baby's heart in the muscle between the left and right ventricles. It means very little now because all of the baby's blood is being filtered by my heart. But after birth, the oxygenated blood will mix with and displace the de-oxygenated blood, causing some potentially long-term problems. The problem could fix itself, or baby might need surgery before the age of two. That is more of a wait-and-see thing. Here's a picture of normal versus not normal:
Here's hoping that hole they saw isn't very large (really, what is 3mm in the grand scheme of things?) and that it will repair itself.
I am scheduled for another ultrasound in two weeks, this time with a greater focus on the heart. I was just so excited to see it beating, that I don't even care about anything else.
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