20 week scan down syndrome?

hi i went for a 20 week scan and they saw a bright white 3mm calcifcation between my babies stomach and lower diaphram they say evrthing else is ok no other problems just this i am back again in 2 weeks they say it could be nothing or asign of down syndrome has anyone had this before i am 22 and i am just confused they said dont worry it may dissapear and its not in his heart so its should be ok please help

the person who was doing your scan was jumping the gun a bit by saying it could possibly be DS. are you scheduled for a level 2 or high intensity ultra-sound (done by a perinatologist...not a technician)? if not I would ask for this...during this scan they will look for certain ''markers'' that are sometimes associated with down syndrome. they will measure the fungal fold on the back of the babies neck, children with DS have a thicker fungal fold and they will measure the long bones of the baby, kids with DS sometimes have shorter long bones in the arms and legs. then they will look in detail at the heart for congenital heart defects and also look for any intestinal blockages these are also sometimes associated with down syndrome. if they find any of these markers then they will ask if you want an amnio done...this is the only way to know for sure if your baby would have down syndrome because they look at the chromosomes of the baby. my son showed three ''markers'' for ds in this ultra-sound. and I had the amnio to be certain. he does have ds. a lot of times the scans can show things that will disapear once your baby matures...try not to worry! ask the dr for the ultra-sound to look for any other possible ''markers" (please keep in mind though that this ultra-sound is not 100% accurate either...the only way to know for sure is an amnio). I wish you all the best and congratulations on the upcomming birth of your baby!

Hi, I can't be of much help because I have never heard of this before, but if the doctors are optimistic, then try not to worry too much. Easier said than done, I am sure, but like the previous poster noted there are many other markers for Down Syndrome than what was seen at your ultrasound. Also, according to some searching I did, ultrasound screening is much less reliable in effectively diagnosing Down Syndrome than other tests are. One web site mentions that if one potential marker shows up unaccompanied by other signs, that's it's almost certainly no cause for alarm. If you haven't had a blood test yet (triple or quad screen), you most likely will. This will not diagnose the presence of Down Syndrome, but will allow the doctor to assess if your baby has a higher risk of it due to the levels of certain hormones. Amniocentesis is the only sure way to find out if the baby you're carrying has Down Syndrome, but it's likely that if there are no other factors to indicate the baby has it you won't need the test, especially since it can pose a slight risk to the pregnancy. Best of luck to you.