soft markers for downs syndrome

[kwalker08]

I am due in June and went for my 16 week ultrasound yesterday.  The baby looked great but I was told there were 2 soft markers that could possibly mean downs syndrome.  The markers were a crooked pinky finger (which myself, my mother and my sister all have) and a small stomach??? I had the other two tests AFP and the test in which they test the skin on the back of the baby's neck and everything came back completely normal.  I am going back next week for another ultrasound to check the baby's stomach.  They have offered me an amnio if I come back next week and the stomach still looks small, but the genetic counselor said the risk of miscarriage outweighed the probability that the test would come back as positive for downs.  Has anyone had these problems?? I am worried to death and probably will be throughout the whole pregnancy now.  Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

[sweetangel7]

I never even heard of these two as soft markers for downs...hopefully your next ultrasound will go well.  I'd try not to worry about it until then especially if your blood results were normal.  I think more women get false positives/false scares on the blood tests and if you didn't get a scare on the blood test, I'd try to relax (I know, easier said than done!) and sit tight until your ultrasound!

[njrohe]

My son had an echocardiogenic foci (calcium deposit in his heart) which is a soft marker for Down's Syndrome.  Like you, I was worried through the pregnancy about it, but I found out a lot of things that made me feel much better.  First, the soft markers are different from the markers for Downs.  Soft markers are VERY common.  One u/s tech even told me that most of the babies she scans has at least one of the soft markers, and the extreme majority do not have Downs.  

So basically, soft markers are a load of **** that doctors tell you about just to scare the &*#^ out of you.  My son, as you might imagine, was perfectly normal and healthy.  

I would not recommend an amnio.  As you said, the risk of the amnio is greater than the chance that your baby actually has Downs.  Just try to relax.