One of those phone calls you don't ever want...

A few days after the twenty week ultrasound, I received a call from my OB.   I was working at the time so she had left a message asking me to call her back. 

I should have waited until after I was off of work.  But curiosity got the better of me.  During my fifth period prep I called her back. 

She told me the ultrasound had turned up some abnormalities in the baby's development.  They had discovered choroid plexus cysts in the baby's brain. 

Doctor told me not to worry, that it usually turns out to be nothing, but they wanted to do a level two ultrasound to investigate further.  She was sending out the referral and we should be contacted about an appointment within a week. 

I hung up and totally bawled my eyes out.  Something was wrong with my baby!

I contemplated grabbing someone to cover my sixth period class, but I pulled myself together and made it through the day. 

I called Husband and told him the news.  I think we were both cried out when we got home from our respective jobs. 

Of course, I then had to Google everything I could about choroid plexus cysts.  Here's what Wikipedia said:

"Choroid plexus cysts (CPCs) are cysts that occur within choroid plexus of the brain. The brain contains pockets or spaces called ventricles with a spongy layer of cells and blood vessels called the choroid plexus. This is in the middle of the fetal brain. The choroid plexus has the important function of producing a fluid called cerebrospinal fluid. The fluid produced by the cells of the choroid plexus fills the ventricles and then flows around the brain and the spinal cord to provide a cushion of fluid around these structures."

And ucsfhealth.org says:

"What are choroid plexus cysts?
The choroid plexus is the part of the brain that makes cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid that normally bathes and protects the brain and spinal column. In about 1 to 2 percent of normal babies — 1 out of 50 to 100 — a tiny bubble of fluid is pinched off as the choroid plexus forms. This appears as a cyst inside the choroid plexus at the time of ultrasound."

Basically, whenever choroid plexus cysts are seen in an ultrasound, a follow up is ordered to check for other abnormalities.  The presence of the cysts could indicate a chromosomal abnormality, such as Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome) or Trisomy 18 (of which most babies are stillborn).