Choroid plexus cysts

[goldenrun358]

I got a call from my OB today and she said the 18 week US I had done showed the baby has choroid plexus cysts in her brain. She said that she sees this often and not to worry...but, that it can increase the risk of a neural tube defect or other anomaly.

So, I'm worried.

I've done some reading on the internet about this, and this seems really benign. She said the rest of the US looked fine which should mean the baby is healthy. The thing is, 50% of babies with trisomy 18 have a choroid plexus cyst, these babies also have other abnormalities that show on US. I'm assuming EVERYTHING else looked ok on US.

Has anyone else been told their baby had these?

I'm trying so hard not to worry and to reassure my husband. He took it kind of hard and said this was his biggest fear.

I don't really feel up to telling a lot of people (friends/family), but wanted to talk to someone, so this seemed like a safe place.

Thanks for listening.

 

[Stephanie0523]

Hi goldenrun-- My little boy, Charlie (almost 7 months) had a choroid plexus cyst that was found at my 18-week ultrasound. Just like you, my husband and I searched the internet and found that it was a soft marker for downs syndrome and trisomy 18. We didn't worry too much about downs, but we were scared to death of trisomy 18. Luckily, Charlie's ultrasound did not show any other markers of trisomy or downs. (the hands and feet show evident signs of trisomy if the child has it) But I still worried. I had not had the quad 4 screening, so I opted to get that blood test to further rule out anything. The quad 4 came out negative, and my doc assured me that everything would be fine. And it was. Charlie is a happy, healthy 7 month old. He's our third little boy, and I worried so much with this pregnancy-- more than the other two. I suppose we never stop worrying about our little ones!!

I suggest getting the quad4 screening if you need further peace of mind. I also demanded another ultrasound at around 25/28 weeks to see if the cyst still was present, and it had disappeared by that ultrasound. Having the second ultrasound really allowed me to enjoy the last several weeks of my pregnancy without as much worry.

You're not alone. Please PM me if you need to talk. I totally understand your worry, but I wanted you to know that everything worked out well for me, and I"m sure your little one will be just fine. Please keep us posted.

ETA: we didn't tell our parents either. I didn't want them worrying and constantly asking me about it. I did tell my sister and I posted a thread like yours here to see if anyone else was going through it. This is such a great support system!

 

[chefkate]

goldenrun, no experience with that but im glad stephanie could offer you some support!
hoping your baby arrives healthy & safe!

 

[goldenrun358]

Thanks Ladies.

Stephanie, I have not yet had the quad screening. I opted out because I am young and no genetic disorders run in our family. I will most definitely have another ultrasound, but I am not sure about the quad screen. It can sometimes come up falsely positive and I DO NOT want to go through that.

I am so glad that everything was fine with your little guy. I believe that everything will be fine with my little girl too, but I still worry and I am really feeling down today because of this. Kind of that verge of tears feeling.

But, your post really helps and it helps having someone objective to talk to and like you said telling grandparents (or my parents rather) equals a lot of explanations of what it is, what it means, and what comes next. It just takes a lot of emotional energy to bring someone else in the loop.

I am a really bad daily poster on the forums, but it really is such a great place for info and support!