Level II results- advice needed please

Hi ladies,
I don't get a chance to post as much on this board this pregnancy but I'm looking for some advice and some hugs. I will try not to make this too long. I went for my level II today and most of the results were normal. The doctor said the baby is measuring great and that all the body parts look great. Her concern was that there is a "bright spot" on the baby's abdomen. This is considered a soft marker. She said it could be a) an infection b) a placenta issue c) a chromosomal abnormality d) nothing! Of course my mind is going right to the chromosomal abnormality. She said that it is something that they see in pregnancies further along but that I'm too early for them to really be seeing it.

I had bloodwork today to rule out the infection. The doctor doesn't see anything else in my sono or previous bloodwork to think that is the cause though. Because it might be a placenta issue that causes the baby to be low birth weight, I am now considered to be "high risk" and have to go in every 4 weeks to be checked. That is FREAKING me out. They will monitor the baby's weight to make sure it is gaining enough. And we have an appt with a genetic counselor next week to go over options for further chromosomal testing if that's what we choose to do. I'm thinking we will move forward with the Maternity21 testing but I don't know enough about it yet. The counselor will fill us in. Just saying that I have to see a genetic counselor is also FREAKING ME OUT!

Phew! If you made it this far, thank you!!! As you can tell, I'm pretty worked up over this. Now my questions: has anyone else had a soft marker? Has anyone had the Maternity21 testing? What should I expect? Has anyone had this placenta issue that meant they needed to be monitored more closely? I want to be prepared for whichever case they tell me it might be. Thank you for any and all advice you have for me.

And....it's a girl!!!

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

I dont have any experience but just wanted to offer prayers, hugs, and congrats on a baby girl

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

I know EXACTLY what you are going through!
My doctor told me the same thing. They found some bright white stuff in our stomach, and I ABSOLUTELY freaked out about it; not to mention I have higher than normal AFP. (This was when I was 20 weeks, I'm 25 weeks now).
When I took my blood work, all my tests came back more than fine (1 in 25,000 for down syndrome, no fetal infections, etc.) During the anatomy scan they wanted to make sure of spina bfida, but thank God everything looked FANTASTIC. They re-did all my blood work and everything came back the same (fine).

We were advised to meet with a genetic counselor, dh and I have no history of any abnormalities on both sides of the families so they were confident that it wasn't anything and we didn't have to come back and see her.
They asked us if we wanted an amnio, we said no, since it wouldn't change our minds regardless of the outcome.
The doctor considered me high risk as well when they saw the bright white echogenic bowel in the stomach. I went CRAZY googling everything there is to know about it, drove dh CRAZY too.

Now, I go in to check every 4 weeks for a growth sono, and this past Monday when I was there, the bright white stuff was almost all gone! Our little boy is measuring perfectly and the doctor keeps saying "everything looks great"
The doctor thinks it's something with my placenta (since all my blood work came back fine), and they just want to monitor it closely.
They say that as the pregnancy continues, a lot of the time the bright stuff slowly starts to go away.

But I know how you're feeling! Don't google anything online, just trust your doctors and try not to worry as much as I did. Just keep your head up! Good luck!

and congrats on finding out about you're !

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

Posted by mommyecs

I know EXACTLY what you are going through!
My doctor told me the same thing. They found some bright white stuff in our stomach, and I ABSOLUTELY freaked out about it; not to mention I have higher than normal AFP. (This was when I was 20 weeks, I'm 25 weeks now).
When I took my blood work, all my tests came back more than fine (1 in 25,000 for down syndrome, no fetal infections, etc.) During the anatomy scan they wanted to make sure of spina bfida, but thank God everything looked FANTASTIC. They re-did all my blood work and everything came back the same (fine).

We were advised to meet with a genetic counselor, dh and I have no history of any abnormalities on both sides of the families so they were confident that it wasn't anything and we didn't have to come back and see her.
They asked us if we wanted an amnio, we said no, since it wouldn't change our minds regardless of the outcome.
The doctor considered me high risk as well when they saw the bright white echogenic bowel in the stomach. I went CRAZY googling everything there is to know about it, drove dh CRAZY too.

Now, I go in to check every 4 weeks for a growth sono, and this past Monday when I was there, the bright white stuff was almost all gone! Our little boy is measuring perfectly and the doctor keeps saying "everything looks great"
The doctor thinks it's something with my placenta (since all my blood work came back fine), and they just want to monitor it closely.
They say that as the pregnancy continues, a lot of the time the bright stuff slowly starts to go away.

But I know how you're feeling! Don't google anything online, just trust your doctors and try not to worry as much as I did. Just keep your head up! Good luck!

and congrats on finding out about you're !

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

Oh, I had the maternity1, it is a simple, non invasive blood test that tests for floating fetal DNA in your blood stream. No risk AT ALL to baby! It is not reliable for multiples, or if you happened to use a donor egg but otherwise is very accurate and has results about 10 days later. Tests for Down's. It can also tell you the sex if you are interested which I did not know until I found out!

I do know so many people who had scary results on their Level II's and had NOTHING wrong, so def hold on to that option! Hang in there and try not not stress (I know, yeah , right) and most of all

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

Oh and i have to go every 4 weeks for testing too but just bc I am old!

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

Posted by Teachergal

Posted by mommyecs

I know EXACTLY what you are going through!
My doctor told me the same thing. They found some bright white stuff in our stomach, and I ABSOLUTELY freaked out about it; not to mention I have higher than normal AFP. (This was when I was 20 weeks, I'm 25 weeks now).
When I took my blood work, all my tests came back more than fine (1 in 25,000 for down syndrome, no fetal infections, etc.) During the anatomy scan they wanted to make sure of spina bfida, but thank God everything looked FANTASTIC. They re-did all my blood work and everything came back the same (fine).

We were advised to meet with a genetic counselor, dh and I have no history of any abnormalities on both sides of the families so they were confident that it wasn't anything and we didn't have to come back and see her.
They asked us if we wanted an amnio, we said no, since it wouldn't change our minds regardless of the outcome.
The doctor considered me high risk as well when they saw the bright white echogenic bowel in the stomach. I went CRAZY googling everything there is to know about it, drove dh CRAZY too.

Now, I go in to check every 4 weeks for a growth sono, and this past Monday when I was there, the bright white stuff was almost all gone! Our little boy is measuring perfectly and the doctor keeps saying "everything looks great"
The doctor thinks it's something with my placenta (since all my blood work came back fine), and they just want to monitor it closely.
They say that as the pregnancy continues, a lot of the time the bright stuff slowly starts to go away.

But I know how you're feeling! Don't google anything online, just trust your doctors and try not to worry as much as I did. Just keep your head up! Good luck!

and congrats on finding out about you're !

Thank you so much!!! Reading this made me feel so much better. My doctor said to not let this drive me crazy and that I should not lose sleep over it but that is so much easier said than done. I feel like my doctor didn't think it was a big deal when she saw the sono pictures and read the report after the fact but the doctor at LIJ that did my sono had me panicked. I hope my outcome is like yours. I wish the meeting with the genetic counselor was sooner. Can I ask why you decided against the Maternity21 test? Like you, we wouldn't do anything either way, but I feel like I just need to know 100%.

Level II results- advice needed please

ok ive never had any tests come back like that, so first off

youve prob heard my story before. at 32w i developed pre-eclampsia and had to be on hospital bedrest. when i was being admitted they did several sonos in the hospital and were throwing around words like "placental disease" "low birth weight" "poor placental bloodflow" and lots of scary things. at that point my DD was weighing in around 3-9 which i was told was normal prior to my hospital visit - and at the hospital i was told that she was more like a 30 weeker. my fluid was also low at the time too. i was admitted to the hospital and told that my baby was intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR). i ended up delivering 5 days later when i developed HELLP syndrome and DD was born at 33w1d weighing 3lbs 8oz. at the time of delivery it was discovered that i had placenta accreta. all of these combined added to the growth issues.

obviously its not the same as you but i def all too much understand when doctors are suddenly telling you all these things that might be wrong. i just remember being in the hospital and hearing "placental disease" and being absolutely petrified. i will say that if they want you to see a high risk doctor every 4 weeks, that doesn't sound like a real dire issue. most high risk doctors will see you every week or every other week so every 4 weeks doesnt sound much different than an OB. i have heard tons of stories of people who got bad results of testing and everything turned out fine. i think more often than not things turn out fine. i would def get a second and third opinion. dont be scared of a high risk doctor - see it as a bonus - you will get more information and you will be monitored closely to make sure everything is OK. even with all the issues i had my DD is perfect. she was born tiny and is at the lower end of the curves at 19m, but she's pretty much all caught up and even ahead in some areas. even if there is a placenta issue and low birth weight - it doesn't necessarily mean long term issues. just take each day at a time and compile as much info as you can and try to stay calm. FM if you have any questions, I'll try to answer even though the situation was different. good luck!!!

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

Posted by FlowerWife

ok ive never had any tests come back like that, so first off

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

Posted by Teachergal

Posted by FlowerWife

ok ive never had any tests come back like that, so first off

Thank you so much for sharing your story. It makes me feel so good to hear stories of others who received scary news only to have it turn out ok. That's what I'm hoping it is for me too!

Level II results- advice needed please

Just a quick FYI, the MaterniT21 test IS reliable for both donor eggs and multiples. It might be worth doing in your case as its non- invasive and tests for Trisomy 21, 18 and 13 and gives you the sex of the baby. I'm not certain what the marker they found in your case may be indicative of, but if its one of those three, it might be worth doing simply so that you can have peace of mind. If the marker is indicative of another chromosomal issue, then you would need to do either an CVS or amino. Good luck.

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

Teachergal,
I just posted the same thing you have here. I am hoping for both of us that everything turns out fine. The Doctor at the hospital really freaked me out but my doctor really calmed me down again.
When is your next scan?

Posted by Teachergal

Hi ladies,
I don't get a chance to post as much on this board this pregnancy but I'm looking for some advice and some hugs. I will try not to make this too long. I went for my level II today and most of the results were normal. The doctor said the baby is measuring great and that all the body parts look great. Her concern was that there is a "bright spot" on the baby's abdomen. This is considered a soft marker. She said it could be a) an infection b) a placenta issue c) a chromosomal abnormality d) nothing! Of course my mind is going right to the chromosomal abnormality. She said that it is something that they see in pregnancies further along but that I'm too early for them to really be seeing it.

I had bloodwork today to rule out the infection. The doctor doesn't see anything else in my sono or previous bloodwork to think that is the cause though. Because it might be a placenta issue that causes the baby to be low birth weight, I am now considered to be "high risk" and have to go in every 4 weeks to be checked. That is FREAKING me out. They will monitor the baby's weight to make sure it is gaining enough. And we have an appt with a genetic counselor next week to go over options for further chromosomal testing if that's what we choose to do. I'm thinking we will move forward with the Maternity21 testing but I don't know enough about it yet. The counselor will fill us in. Just saying that I have to see a genetic counselor is also FREAKING ME OUT!

Phew! If you made it this far, thank you!!! As you can tell, I'm pretty worked up over this. Now my questions: has anyone else had a soft marker? Has anyone had the Maternity21 testing? What should I expect? Has anyone had this placenta issue that meant they needed to be monitored more closely? I want to be prepared for whichever case they tell me it might be. Thank you for any and all advice you have for me.

And....it's a girl!!!

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

Re: Level II results- advice needed please

don't have any advice but wanted to send lots of