Worried About Cyst on Brain of Unborn Baby

My middle son has cysts. I had a Level II ultrasound at 29 weeks and they were gone. My OB said it's fairly normal and not to worry too much until after the 2nd ultrasound.

My mom has a friend that had the exact same issue. They took several tests and it just dissolved around that same time frame. Don't worry. Even if it does not dissove, it could probably be dealt with after birth. Have fun with the new baby!

I am an Ultrasonographer from the San Francisco Bay Area, if this is a choroid plexus cyst (which has very distinct characteristics) we do not even comment on these anymore. They are benign, and a normal finding. Ultrasound machines have improved so much that we are seeing more "normal" findings then years prior. But, that being said, I am surprised they are still making a big deal of them here! I was just at a conference at UCSF in April and the concensus is still not to make a big deal of these. It causes too much anxienty during pregnancy to document these types of normal findings. Hope this help.

My 9 month old baby girl as well as my neighbor's 10 month old baby girl both had these cysts. They aren't true cysts, they are pockets of spinal cord fluid pooling in the brain as the spinal cord area is developing (and apparently they are much smaller than they look on screen). They do indeed go away! I was a wreck over them but my very experienced doctor assured me they were not permenant and would cause no damage. Sure enough, by my U/S at 32 weeks, they were gone! My daughter is perfect in every way and developing on schedule. I can only assume that it is the same kind of cyst my daughter had based off of the info provided. Congrats on the baby!

I had the same thing with my son. He was our third child and a big suprise. I was sent to a perinatoligist. I was also a diabetic at this time. I had gestational diabetese with my second child. I had may special sonograms done while I was pregnant along with many blood test. I am happy to say I have a healthy 16 month old little boy now. All the systs dissolved. He had one in his brain and in the heart area. They all went away. I will keep your daughter in my prayers. I know it can be a trying time.

Yes...I too had this same result from an ultrasound with my second pregnancy. I was so freaked out, but my doctor definitely wasn't. The cyst disappeared later in my pregnancy and my now 3 year old is a silly, happy and completely healthy little girl. I totally understand your fear, but go with the doctors on this one. They do see it all the time. May you all be blessed with a peaceful heart.

We had the same experience with our first child. We had a sonogram at 19 or 20 weeks and there was a cyst in our daughter's brain. The doctor tried to reassure us that it would resolve on it's own but that month until the next prenatal appointment was agonizing for us. The doctor did a follow up untrasound and sure enough the cyst was gone. Evidently they are very common around that time in development. Just try as best you can to keep your daughter calm and not too stressed about it. I know from personal experience just how hard that can be, but give it at least a month to clear up on it's own.

Hi C.,
I have a grandson that was not diagnosed with this thrue ultasound, but it was found right after birth. I sure dont want to scare you and our outcome has been great. We lived in a very small town and had to take him to the emergency room when he was just 2 days old. They careflighted him to Childrens Medical Center in Dallas and that was when they discovered the cyst. At that time it was not too concerning because it was not growing and we monitored it through cat scans and MRI's every 6 months. His cyst was actually attached to the lining of the skull and could not be surgically removed because the lining of the skull and the cyst had like woven themselves together like fabric. When he was 2 it started to grow and was pushing his brain to the left side of his head. I have to say we have a wonderful nureologist at Childrens. His name is Dr. Swift.
They went in and inserted a tube into the cyst and it drains into the stomach. The tube is under the skin.
My grandson is now 5 and lives a very normal uninterrupted life. We have an MRI done every year and so far all is good. I know it seems very scary,know your doctor and their credentials. Childrens is an excellent hospital with excellent doctors. I hope I have helped to some degree. Feel free to write me if you have more questions I might be able to help you with.
I will pray for you and your family. God Bless You

May 2006 I was 24 weeks and my baby girl had 2 cps on her brain as well. I was told they would dissolve on their own.
I was told they are sometimes softmarkers for abnormalities.
But we had the in depth u/s at the specialist. It showed nothing indicating any abnormalities and at that u/s the cpc had resolved . It was comforting news. Althoug I was told they cause no harm I was still scared. One of my good friends called and I told her what was going on. It turned out she had experienced the same thing with her previous pregnancy and we all have perfectly healthy babies. Hers never dissolved on the ultrasound for her to see. But both babies are doing fine. I embraced prayer everyday. It gave me strength and comfort to somehting that did seem so uncertain at times. I'm sure I worried an unhealthy amount. So try to relax and feed your faith. God Bless.

H.

Hi C., My niece had this situation with her first born
son. They told her that most likely the cyst would disapear.
Well that is exactly what happened. The baby came out just fine, on time, and as beautiful as could be. He will be 2yrs old in October and has not had a bit of problems. She is having her second child "a girl" this time in July.

Praying for you and you daughter
Cindy

C.,

I am pregnant with my 3rd baby and at my 18 week ultrasound, there were two CHOROID PLEXUS CYSTS (CPC) on my baby's brain (my husband and I do not find out the sex of our babies). The nurse said these are called "normal variants" and that these "pockets of fluid" come about as the folds of the brain develop. I was told to not worry about these since my other non-invasive chromosome tests came back with flying colors (no abnormalities found; all numbers were ideal).

Since I am 40 and considered "advanced maternal" for this pregnancy, I qualify for more ultrasounds which are taken at a specialty doctor's office, where their ultrasound machines are much more sensitive and detailed than what my regular OB/GYN has in her office. These more sophisticated machines are able to see these cysts and this is the first pregnancy where they detected cysts.

I will have another ultrasound at 28 weeks to check for the cysts again. I was told that the majority of these cysts go away on their own and that there are no problems. I was also told that even if these cysts don't go away, the person doesn't experience any problems. If my chromosome tests came back abnormal, then there would be greater concern with the combination of the cysts and the chromosome issues.

As with my other pregnancies, I always pray for healthy babies and thankfully, God blessed me with two very healthy daughters. My daughters may have had these cysts as well and weren't detected during the ultrasounds.

I am not worried about my baby's cysts...I will know more info at my next ultrasound in August.

Did your daughter get some info on these cysts from her doctor? I received some info and would be glad to scan it in and send it to you if you would like. Just let me know...

In His Precious Name,
K.

Does it Need Treatment?

More than 90% of choroid plexus cysts resolve spontaneously by 28th weeks' gestation . Once resolved, the cysts do not recur. [1,4]. The finding of isolated choroid plexus cysts is not associated with delayed infant or early childhood development [5]. Rarely very large cysts may cause obstruction of the cerebrospinal fluid which may need treatment after the infant is born.

Hi C., The above is just confirming what your daughters doctor said. I had the awesome opportunity to work in the OBGYN field for many years and saw this often. Every baby that had this kind of cyst on ultrasound, resolved. I know it's hard not to be concerned, but I just want to encourage you and your daughter that it will be okay. After all, she is already "fearfully and wonderfully made!"

My baby is now 3 months old and she also had a choroid plexus cyst (sp?) on her brain during the first ultrasound. Your daughter will most likely have another ultrasound 1-2 months after to see if the cyst went away. My daughters cyst was gone when they checked it again. My OB said that these are so common in unborn babies that it really is nothing to worry about. Hopefully this makes you and her feel better. Try not to worry too much, most likely it will be gone during her next ultrasound appointment :)

C., tell your daughter not to worry and just place the baby in God's hands. I had the Dr. tell me the same thing when I was pg w/ our third child. I confided in my friend and as it turned out, she had had the same experience w/ one of her babies. It is very, very common. The dr's have to tell your daughter about everything they find no matter how insignificant they think that it may be just to cover themselves in case it develops into something more serious (which is very rare). My son and my friend's daughter are as healthy as can be. So tell her to just relax, pray, and don't let any negative thoughts or energy be a part of her as this all finds its way to the baby.

C.,
During my first pregnancy I had previa and had to have several ultrasounds early on as a precaution. During these ultrasounds they are able to see much more detail than in regular ultrasounds and they found a cyst on the baby's brain. This was at 20 weeks. They scared me to death with all of the "possible, but unlikely" scenarios: everything from downs syndrome to encephalitis (sp?)to cancer. I was completely freaked out. I spent the next four weeks on my knees. At 24 weeks I went back and they could find no cyst. It had resolved itself as most of these cases do. I went on to deliver a perfectly healthy daughter. She is now a beautiful and VERY intelligent 8 years old. Please let your daughter know that she is not alone. MANY babies have these cysts that resolve themselves early and quickly. I will pray for her as diligently as I prayed when I had my own daughter.

C., my dear friend had this during her second pregnancy. She was so nervous, but it all worked out fine.. Her daughter is now 4 years old and healthy. I know it is frightening to hear, but her doctors said it is normal. By the time the baby was born, the cyst had dissolved. Good luck. J.

Dear C.,
Please pray, meditate on gratitude and send positive energy to your daughter and her baby that all will be well. Project a positive outcome and have faith in the doctor's prediction. We were created to be children under God's dominion of love,inheriting his power so let us exercise it with faith, belief and positive actions in that direction. I will send positive prayers to your daughter and baby as well. Peace.

We will keep you and your family in our prayers. Please let us know an update. May God give you his peace while you wait for your good news!

When I was 20 weeks pregnant with my daughter they found cysts on both her kidneys. The cysts on her left kidney disolved but the ones on her right kidney didn't. They have caused no trouble, just more trips to the nepherologist. Hope everything turns out ok.

I had just went and had my complete ultrasoud done on March 28 2012 and they told me to that my daughter had a cyst on her brain and have to go for level two ultrasound tomorrow i am 19 weeks now and hope and pray to that her cyst will disolve and disappear by tomorrow or by the time she is born,but as i am reading all these post i can see that these are so common and most of the time disappear.