18mm fluid on the brain..is this bad??

[Jesokah]

Hi, I am 24 weeks pregnant, and we have just recently found out that the babys fluid went from 12mm to 18 within 2 weeks..the babys head is normal size, and we were told that our baby would be severly retarded!!! meaning that she would if were lucky just be able to smile, sit and stand..but also that where the spina bifida was located that she would not be able to walk...can someone give us advice to whether this is bad a thing or not???

[Summer25]

Hi, I am 24 weeks pregnant, and we have just recently found out that the babys fluid went from 12mm to 18 within 2 weeks..the babys head is normal size, and we were told that our baby would be severly retarded!!! meaning that she would if were lucky just be able to smile, sit and stand..but also that where the spina bifida was located that she would not be able to walk...can someone give us advice to whether this is bad a thing or not???

Not sure about the amount of fluid and if it is bad or not, sorry. However, just remember that doctor's like to give the worst case senerio. My parents were told the same thing 25 years ago and even though I am in a wheelchair, I have graduated high school. I drive and go to college. So, you just never know until the child is born.

[dahliafaolan]

I'm definitely with Summer on this one. They told my parents pretty much the same thing and I didn't have hydro. They told her that I would never amount to anything and that I would just be an emotional and financial burden. I'm a high school and college graduate now with my very own job. Don't always believe everything the doctors tell you. Your child will never cease to amaze you if given the chance.

[LisaJoy]

Jesokah,

The others are right -- the medical profession has a long history of being unreasonably pessimistic about infants with sb. There have even been studies published in medical journals about this. The experience of most people on this forum is that ultrasound diagnoses have been overly pessimistic.

In your first post, you said that they thought your baby's defect was at L5. Has that changed? Because that is a very low lesion, and usually the lower the better. Babies with L5 lesions usually walk (with supports).

Also, I am skeptical about them being able to tell you at this stage the exact amount of hydrocephalus. And they just can't know for sure that your baby will be mentally retarded. Most with sb & hydro are not -- in fact, I believe that about 80% have IQs in the normal range, although many do have learning disabilities (you can have a learning disability like dyslexia even with an above average IQ).

Is this information coming from your OB? I read a medical research study that surveyed 1000 ob/gyns about sb and found that 2/3 of them overestimated the likelihood of mental retardation.

I'm not trying to give you false hope, because there can be bad outcomes with sb. But the worst-case scenarios usually do not happen. I would urge you to continue to seek information and to get additional medical opinions, especially if you are contemplating abortion.

Do you mind sharing where you live? People might be able to suggest medical professionals with experience with sb in your area.

Lisa

[LisaJoy]

This is a good thread to read:

http://www.spinabifidaconnection.com/showthread.php?t=447

[Jesokah]

i live in Montreal QC Canada!!!

[Brooks]

When my wife was about 26 months along with our son Preston they were measuring him at a 2. The previous visit when he would have been 22 weeks he was measuring 1.6 (assuming these were centimeters so that would convert out to 20 and 16). He is almost 9 months old now and is very social and smart. I agree with the above posts the doctors seem to pretty much always give you the worst case scenario. I can remember how much I hated those numbers. There was never anything I could find online or by asking that would tell me if they were good, bad, or just numbers. In the end I believe they were just numbers and measurments and really couldn't be used for much other than tracking growth. Later on the doctors did tell us that if the numbers grew by leaps and bounds then that would indicate that it was time to deliver so they could get the shunt placed. But they never said what the yardstick would be for this decision.

[sleepyme]

Jesokah, I think the doctor is right.
Be strong enough, just pray and have
faith that your baby will have no abnormalities.