Re:We were told our baby has an echogenic bowel, what does this mean?
An echogenic bowel is a finding on ultrasound that is a bright area in the intestines of the baby. If it shows up on ultrasound, there is a 53 percent to 85 percent chance that the baby is completely healthy. Ultrasounds can be done differently by different technicians so it may be a normal variant. It can indicate immaturity of the intestine or that the baby has swallowed a bit of blood. It can also be due to the meconium part of the stool inside the intestine.
More serious reasons for an echogenic bowel include chromosomal abnormalities like Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, serious infections in the baby or intestinal blockage. There are three degrees of echogenic bowel: Grade one is close to normal and the bowel is not very bright, Grade II, where the bowel is slightly echogenic and Grade III, where the density of the brightness is as bright as bone. The more severe the grade, the more likely it is that there is something dangerous going on.
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