Question Re: Fetal Brain Development

I have a child with special needs. She has hydrocephlaus and spina bifida.
I wouldnt worry yet till there is more to go on.
Enjoy being pregnant. A specialist is the best way to go.
And trust me sometimes things are better than the way you are prepared for. Make sense? Keep me posted and if you need to vent or talk plase feel free to email me.

We had something very similar to this with my first pregnancy, only the ultra sound was much later in the pregnancy. They said that the one of the ventricles was abnormally large and sent me to the hospital for a level 2 ultra sound. Of course I had to wait almost a week b/4 I could get in and I went crazy with worry. I looked things up on the internet to find out what it ment and of course came up with the worst case senerio...don't do that! The doctor had told me not to worry, just to see what the ultra sound physician said. I was so worried when they were doing the ultra sound they had to stop because I thought I was going to be sick. After they did the ultra sound the technician of course is not allowed to say anything, but she told me to relax. The doctor came in and said that everything was normal, sometimes the tech's are just off a hair when they measure and if you think how small a mm is, that's pretty tiny. So a mm between normal and adnormal is pretty hard to measure. So I guess my advice is relax and let the doctors take care of the worries. Please keep us posted on how things go and I will keep you and your baby in my prayers.
Good luck!

J.,

I have not had this happen, but I am an ultrasound tech. It is a precautionary measure to send you to a specialist. They do a more involved ultrasound to check for other abnormalities that could possibly coincide with abnormally large ventricles, and often the specialist is right there to consult with at some point during your visit. At the hospital I work at, 10mm is the upper norm for the vents, so your baby is still within normal limits. They just want to play it safe, which you will appreciate later on!
I wish you all the best and that your baby is a healthy one!! Good luck!

My friend went through this as well. They ended up and at Children's hospital and did all kinds of appointments with genetic counselors, etc. It was a very scary time. She had monthly ultrasounds (insurance did cover them) to track the development and gave birth to a completely healthy baby boy in May.

My best advice is try your best not to worry because a lot of these situations resolve themselves, but even if it doesn't, it's still your child and your journey may be different than you imagined, but it's still wonderful and amazing.

i have a son with hydrocephalus. it is very common 3/1000 babies have it.
there is such a WIDE range of how things could turn out. our son with hydro was our first, now we have 3.
there is a yahoogroup for parents of children with hydor, it is a gret place to get answers, and support.

M. (birth douls, VBA2C mama in cinci)

my husband in an ob/gyn and i asked him if you should be worried and he said the same thing your doctor said to go see a specialists but he said there are a lot of bad things that is associated with it but without seeing your racord he can only tell you to get a book on it and it will tell you all possible outcomes but you should not worry until you see the specialists since it is borderline there is good reason that this is nothing

It sounds like we are in the same boat. I found out at my 20 week ultrasound that they could not find the 3rd ventricle of my DD's brain. We were referred to a specialist, he was awesome! My DD had brain surgery to place a shunt at day 4 of life and is doing great. I am not sure if it is the same thing, but ut sounds like it. Prayers are amazing. Please keep me posted and feel free to talk privately to me if you have more questions or reference as to who we saw.

J.

Hi J.-

I wanted to reach out to you and let you know that you are not alone. I too went through this although they discovered that my daughter had an enlarged ventricle a couple weeks prior to yours (I think it was at the 13th week check). Anyway, I was told that one of her ventricles was enlarged and that if I wanted to have an abortion, I could. I was mortified, devastated and furious at the Doctor for his lack of beside manner.

I chose to continue with the pregnancy because in my heart of hearts I believed that she was going to be okay. The coming weeks were difficult at best. With each visit, I was hopeful and yet we would leave without much change. Fortunately or unfortunately, her measurements remained the same despite everything else growing. And so we just held out hope that she was going to be okay.

Today, I have a very happy, loving and wonderful 16 month olda baby girl who has just been the apple of our eyes and has completed our family in so many ways. While there were no problems noted at birth with regard to her ventricle size we did have a scare that her head size was too small at her 3 month check up. With the ventricle problem indicating an enlarged head size, we somewhat welcomed the fact that her head size was too small. Although any kind of brain issue is enough to put a Mom over the edge.

I am sorry if this is rambling. I just wanted to reach out to you and let you know that you are not alone. Additionally, I wanted to let you know that I have found through my research the following:
1) Docs really don't have a good sense of what is "normal". If you think about it, the vast majority of new Mom's do not have this level of testing done and so they don't know how wide the range is and can be.
2) Your baby's brain is borderline. What is your heart telling you? Do you *feel* like there is a problem?
3) Be strong. Keep the faith that this will either resolve itself or that it won't change...like mine. I know all too well how difficult this is and all I can say is that my heart goes out to you and your family.

Feel free to write if you want to talk further. Otherwise, hang in there and best wishes.
N.

J. when I had my 20 week ultrasound for my son they said that one of his kidneys was abnormally larger and said it could be a sign of downs. I did the blood test you can do and had a happy, healthy normal boy in February. Definitely get an opinion from the specialist you mentioned. I hope all goes well for you-technicians can jump the gun and worry people so do not worry it could be nothing. If it is something you will have the necessary medical team in place when you have your baby which is a plus. I am sure all will work out and I wish you well.

I had a similar situation with my daughter. It was not brain development, but heart dev. At my 20 week ultrasound, they found a cyst in between her heart and lung. They thought it was something called CCAM, and ordered weekly ultrasounds and dr visits. These were high tech ultrasounds to watch the blood flow through the heart. They told me there was a great possibility that I would have to have surgery on her while still in my stomach! I was induced, full-term with the NICU team standing by. She was a full 8lbs, and ended up spending her first week in the NICU. I didn't get to hold her for the first few days. She is now the most beautiful, vibrant 7yr old girl I have ever met! Her CCAM turned out to be something called Pulmonary Sequestration, not the CCAM. At a checkup with the cardiologist before kindergarten, the cyst was almost undetectable. I gave you her full story because I understand your fear, but I want you to know there are happy outcomes. I left her abusive father before I ever found any of this out, and I dealt with it on my own. I had support from my mom and other family, and I kept her father informed. I truly believe the positive outlook I kept and my faith pulled us through. Yes, the dr. may have found this, but it doesn't mean the worst case scenario. Alot of what they find is just precautionary. Think about how wonderful all of the tech. advantages are! 15 yrs ago, they may have never found that. Another exciting thing to think about is that with all of these ultrasounds I had, I actually got to watch her grow inside my belly. You would not believe how you can watch them blink, and suck thumbs, facial expressions. It truly is amazing! I will pray for you and your husband! Good luck!

Hello J., I have not experienced this but if my Dr. told me this I WOULD get a seconded openion and I too WOULD be concerned. Go for the second ultrasound and then you can put your mind at ease and know you have done everything for your own peace of mind. Good Luck Pray a lot. K.