Down syndrome Mom Daviette & Baby

The one thing that I was told that was wrong was that there was ultrasound information that might have detected that Isaac has Down syndrome.

I had sooooo many ultrasounds when I was carrying him.  I remember having one ultrasound in particular where the technician found what was termed a ‘soft marker’ for down syndrome.

A ‘marker’ is an indicator.  A strong marker is a strong indicator.  A soft marker supposedly does not matter as much.

Isaac had a marker called nuchal-translucency thickness.  This indicator is a measurement of the thickness of the skin on the back of a the neck of a baby.

This marker is actually a stronger indicator of heart defects as well.

I did the research for myself and I asked the questions.   My doctor told me that the numbers meant absolutely nothing.  She said that my research was not complete and that I only knew a portion of the relevant information.  She said that my son would not be the first baby that she delivered with Down syndrome.

I have to tell you that my husband and I had already decided that we would love our baby no matter what.

We did go forward to have high resolution ultrasounds.  I could really see Isaac’s beautiful little face!   We also met with doctors/specialists who specifically looked at Isaac’s heart to make sure that he had no defects.

Well, if you didn’t know already, Isaac WAS born with Down syndrome.  He was also born with several significant heart defects.

I don’t believe that ultrasounds are particularly reliable when the goal is to detect down syndrome…..I believe that a more reliable indicator has to do with the technique and knowledge of the person who is performing the ultrasound.

I always noticed that during Isaac’s ultrasounds, his heartbeat was never the same.  This was strange to me because my firstborn always had a consistent heartbeat.

I also remember looking at that fuzzy black and white ultrasound screen trying to find Isaac’s 4 heart chambers.  I could not find them. When I asked the technician to show me, she looked at the screen and pointed. She said to me, “Don’t you see them?”

It turned out that they were not there after all.

I doubted myself.  After all, I had only had one baby.  I was not an expert technician who looked at this fuzzy screen in order to make a living.

Again, I believe that it is more important to have someone with good technique.  It is also more important to have someone with more experience.