JWoww's Pregnancy Scare

Jenni Farley aka JWoww of "Jersey Shore" fame (or infamy) described the impact of learning about a minor abnormality in her prenatal ultrasound.

Jenni reported on her blog recently that a routine ultrasound turned into a moment of pure terror when her doctor informed her that he identified what may be a cyst on the fetus' brain. "At this point I honestly can't tell you what he's saying because I go numb and tears are just flowing," Jenni wrote of the incident. A scary diagnosis, to be sure, but using her trademark tenacity, Jenni secured an appointment with a specialist who delivered some good news: Jenni writes that the new doc informed her: "It's called choroid plexus cyst and over time the cyst should go away." She added, "Honestly I was happy but still my heart felt heavy. And even though I know I did nothing to cause it, I felt guilty and so helpless." Well, apparently Jenni has developed a skill for suspenseful storytelling during her months of sobriety because she ends the blog post by revealing that this all happened several weeks ago: "Fast forward to this check-up which brings me to 25 weeks aka 6 months," JWoww writes. "My daughter's cyst went away!"

There are a variety of findings whose significance seems relatively minor to obstetricians and sonographers yet strike fear in the hearts of moms to be. Choroid plexus cyst is one of these findings. Choroid plexus cyst or CPC is a small fluid-filled structure found in the choroid tissue in the ventricle of the developing fetal brain. CPC's are found in about 1 - 2% of all fetuses so these are quite common. While earlier descriptions found an association between CPC and Trisomy 18 (an extra copy of chromosome 18,) this association has not panned out in further investigations. CPC's do not cause swelling on the brain or hydrocephaly. They are not in and of themselves a major abnormality and have no effect on mental development. In the absence of other risk factors for chromosome problems, eg. age, family history, previously affected children, or other malformations, these should not warrant either worry or further investigation. In fact, most, as in Ms. Farley's case, resolve spontaneously.

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