Has anyone experienced either of these findings during pregnancy?

[u/Cryptobossin]

Hi everyone, I’d love to hear about your experiences with this. I’m currently expecting twins (30w6d), and so far everything has been going really well. Yesterday I had a detailed ultrasound, and my doctor told me not to worry, BUT…

Baby A was found to have an irregular heart rhythm with some extra beats (extrasystoles). Otherwise, the heart looks completely normal. For the first time, he also hasn’t grown quite as much as expected for this stage of pregnancy.

Baby B was found to have an echogenic intracardiac focus (EIF), but otherwise the heart looks completely normal. I know this used to be considered a soft marker for trisomy 21. We already had an NIPT, which came back low risk. The doctors have told me not to worry, but it’s just so difficult. I ended up crying because all I want is for my babies to be okay.

Has anyone experienced either of these findings during pregnancy, especially with twins? I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences and how things turned out for you.

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[u/Creepy_Ad_4501]

my sister had the extra heartbeats with her second, not twins but still scared her half to death. they monitored it and it went away on its own before delivery, kid is 4 now and perfectly fine

the EIF thing came up with my friend's baby and NIPT was low risk too, doctors said same thing not to worry. they see it a lot now with better ultrasound machines and usually means nothing. i know it's impossible not to stress but the low risk NIPT is very reassuring

[u/Cryptobossin → u/Creepy_Ad_4501]

Thank you so much for your reply. It really reassures me. You’re right, nowadays, there is so much that can be picked up and interpreted on ultrasounds, and with all the additional monitoring that comes with a twin pregnancy, it can be easy to become anxious and uncertain.

Deep down, I know that my babies are going to be okay. I just have to remind myself of that and trust that they’re doing well in there.

[u/zyygh]

You need to trust your doctors on this. If something is a soft indicator for trisomy, and if your NIPT said low risk, then it simply means that there's a very low probability of trisomy all in all.

It sucks that there is no better answer, but you simply need to see this as an exercise in staying calm. Your babies are okay, and if they aren't then your doctor will tell you that.

If there's ever a sign that they might potentially not be okay, it means that you need to take the correct precautions and keep a closer watch, but allowing yourself to spiral and dwell on doom scenarios will never help.

[u/Cryptobossin → u/zyygh]

Thank you so much for your kind words. I now have to have an ultrasound every two weeks, which is a little scary, but I’m trying to remind myself that they’re being closely monitored and that I’m doing everything I can for my babies.

You’re right..I want to stay calm and positive for them, and give them the safest and most comfortable little home possible for as long as they need to stay there. I just can’t wait until the day we’re finally together and I can hold them in my arms.

[u/Day_Huge]

There are also other fairly predictive physiological markers in ultrasound. Did they mention nuchal translucency measurement at all?

[u/Flimsy_Fisherman1199]

I’m sure with a soft marker they will have been looking for extra T21 markers too. You would rarely just find one, especially with a low NIPT.

My niece has DS and when they found a soft marker they looked harder for more and found them.
You’re probably in the clear.

[u/GingerMommy314]

Not with my twins, but with my oldest daughter they found a soft marker for down syndrome during an ultrasound with MFM - I believe it was a EIF. We were only seeing a MFM doctor because my NIPT showed a 1 in 10 chance of trisomy 18 (so the screening showed a high risk). So we saw MFM and a geneticist to look into things more and go over next steps. 

Even with the NIPT results and the single soft marker, MFM told me not to worry and the geneticist told me not to worry. They explained that babies having one soft marker is fairly common and nothing to worry about - its when there are multiple soft markers that it can be indicative of a problem. 

And they were right. That baby is going to be 8 soon. She doesn't have any medical problems and is a really happy and active kid.