umbilical cord

[redquiver]

I have just had an ultra sound and was informed that the babies umbilical cord is missing one of the 3 main blood vessels. what will this mean? what will happen to the baby? will it live? if so what could be some of the complications?

[niña]

How far along are you?

[redquiver]

I am 23 weeks as of today.

[mw45331]

I trully hope everything is alright.  The only experience that I have with malformed umbilical cords, was a bad one.  My daughter had all the cord, but where it came into her, was pinched.  She was getting very little nourishment.  She lived 23 weeks and I delivered her still born, right before thanksgiving.  Please talk to your doctors and they should give better answers.  What did they say, where they concerned?  Praying for you and the little one.

[blondie72]

I found this on a web site.  I hope it helps you.  Good Luck. 


Umbilical Cord Abnormalities

The umbilical cord is a narrow, tube-like structure that connects the developing baby (also referred to, in medical terms, as the fetus) to the placenta. The cord is sometimes called the baby’s “supply line” because it delivers the nutrients and oxygen the baby needs for normal growth and development and removes waste products.
The umbilical cord begins to form about five weeks after conception. It becomes progressively longer until about 28 weeks of pregnancy, reaching an average length of 22 inches. As it gets longer, the cord generally twists around itself and becomes coiled.
There are three blood vessels inside the umbilical cord—two arteries and one vein. The vein carries oxygen-rich blood and nutrients from the placenta to the baby, while the two arteries transport waste from the baby back to the placenta (where waste is transferred to the mother’s blood and disposed of by her kidneys). A gelatin-like tissue called Wharton’s jelly cushions and protects these blood vessels.
A number of abnormalities can affect the umbilical cord. Sometimes the cord is too long, too short, connects improperly to the placenta or becomes knotted or compressed. Cord abnormalities can lead to problems during pregnancy or during labor and delivery. In some cases, cord abnormalities are discovered after delivery when a doctor examines the cord and the placenta. Here are some of the most frequent cord problems and how they can affect mother and baby.


What is single umbilical artery?

About 1 percent of singleton and about 5 percent of multiple pregnancies have an umbilical cord that contains only two blood vessels, instead of the normal three, as one artery is missing. The cause of this abnormality is unknown. If an ultrasound examination shows that the baby appears to have no other abnormalities, the baby is likely to be born healthy.
However, studies suggest that about 25 percent of babies with single umbilical artery have birth defects, including chromosomal and/or other abnormalities. A woman whose baby is diagnosed with single umbilical artery during an ultrasound examination may be offered prenatal testing using ultrasound evaluation of the fetal heart and amniocentesis to diagnose or rule out chromosomal abnormalities. Even if the baby does not appear to have birth defects, the pregnant woman will probably be monitored carefully for the remainder of the pregnancy because of a somewhat increased risk of poor fetal growth, preterm delivery and stillbirth.

[redquiver]

so what are the chromosonal abnormalities if that is the situation? can a baby survive after birth.???

[blondie72]

I am not sure.  You may want to go to Google.com and type umbilical cord abnormalities in the search engine.  That is how I found what I posted earlier.   I hope you find your answers.  I am sorry to hear you are going through this.  Good Luck and let us know.

[blondie72]

I am not sure.  You may want to go to Google.com and type umbilical cord abnormalities in the search engine.  That is how I found what I posted earlier.   I hope you find your answers.  I am sorry to hear you are going through this.  Good Luck and let us know.

[nurse12hr]

These questions are far better posed to your obstetrician.


If it makes you feel any better, I have seen lots of babies with 2 vessel cords that had no associated problems whatsoever.

But only YOUR OBSTETRICIAN can give you specific information for YOUR pregnancy and baby.

Good luck!

[redquiver]

are you a midwife? I would like to know more about your dealing with this problem if you can give the info!

[niña]

Was this your first ultrasound?  FYI- I do all my reasearch in books and the net.  I never go by just what one site says!!

[redquiver]

yes i have another ultra sound this tues with my ob gyn. i have tried many site on the web and found nothing until just late last nite and found out the problem was called single umbilical artery and the reports were far from encouaging. but my hope rests in jesus christ. thank you for your comments.

[niña]

I researched your problem and came up with a bunch of sites.  Go to msn.com and just type in umbilical cord problems.  there is also a post here on medhelp from 1999 or so from a woman that had the same problem as you.  Just go to browse and put in umbilical cord and it comes up with the post.  I think that there is hope so do not be discouraged by what you read.  These types of sites tend to be a bit discouraging with some of the topics that are posted, but we have the choice to read them or not.  I wish you the best of luck!

Gina

[Nanny Hannah]

I went for a routine ultrasound to determine gender at 20 weeks and was told that my son had died at about 15 weeks. After I delivered him 3 days later, the only obvious physical difference was a two vessel umbilical cord. My husband and I did not want an autopsy because we didn't want anything invasive done to his body. We did have chromosomal/genetic testing done and that came back normal. I have gotten conflicting information from several doctors about this defect and I am at a loss about what to believe. He was our first child and I'm scared we will lose another baby to this problem. The pregnancy had been very normal and my son had a strong heartbeat the week before he died. I had a flu shot around the time the doctors think he died and I wonder if it was too much for him because of the cord problem. Did anyone else get more detailed info about this defect? Why have I read that some babies are born perfectly healthy with a two vessel cord, but others die during pregnancy? I know that without an autopsy, no one can say for certain. I just need some advice or help from any other moms who know more about this than my admittedly ignorant OB.

[JenniS]

I just found out today that I also have only the two vessels in the cord.  How is yours coming along?  He scheduled an ultrasound in 4 weeks, but that is all he is doing.  He did not seem concerned, and I am seeing a perinatologist.  I am a little irritated that he didn't tell me this 8 weeks ago when I had the ultrasound, he forgot.  I am now 26 weeks, everything else appears normal.  He said this was fairly common, and most babies make the two vessels work for them.  Would love to hear how you are doing, good luck I'll pray for yours also.

[Kristy71]

I just went for an ultrasound yesterday and they said everything was just fine with our son except for the abnormal cord.  I don't see my regular doctor till may 14th. Does anyone have any good stories to report.  I have had 3 other very routine pregnancies and am very worried about this one.  Any ideas about the chromosone disorder?

[JennieLynn]

I have a 21 month old son who only had two cord flows at birth.  He was born post term at 43 weeks, with a horrendous induction.  However his long delivery was not resultant because of the cord flow issue rather because all my children were long inductions.  He has other problens that may or may not be associated with his congenital cord abnormality but are not caused because of it as far as we know. He is a very bright happy child who has some incredible coping skills and cognitive development excelling far beyond his motor developement which are delayed.  He is being examined for ataxic Cerebral Palsy ( floppy baby or hypotonia) which may have been caused by several other complications during his pregnancy.  But the end result is- although he only had one artery in his umbilical cord that was flowing at birth ( they thought they saw that at his bio physical Ultrasound at 20 weeks but then said it was a fluke?)  he still had great apgar scores of 6 at birth and 9 at 5 mins. He laughs, he plays jokes, he teases and he throws temper tantrums just like any other toddler boy.  He was a loving newborn who although couldn't roll or turn his head for the longest time would coo, giggle and suck his thumb at 1 week old.  He is very much a miracle baby, and I am here to let you know that just because your unborn child may have only two cord flows- don't fret or over worry about it, just be extra cautious and follow your OB's directions to a T, because you could still have a normal healthy on time baby that will bring you many years of joy.

Relax, enjoy your pregnancy and write in your journal, you will be glad you did when baby is older.  :)  Kick counts are fun to keep in the journal too- Ask your OB about doing those.

Good luck and many blessings on you and your child,

JennieLynn

[kintigh]

I HAVE 2 CHILDREN (2 & 7) WHO WERE BOTH TWO VESSEL BABIES.  BOTH WERE BORN HEALTHY.  WE DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE CONDITION UNTIL MY FIRST SON WAS BORN, AND WE KNEW BEFORE MY SECOND SON WAS BORN.  I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE CAN BE COMPLICATIONS LATER IN LIFE.

[housechike]

Hi i am 22 weeks pregnant and my ultrasound at 21 weeks revealed that the umbilical cord only has 2 vessels (one artery)they are going to send me to get a level 2 ultrasound now and i am scared that my child might be harmed by this, anyone have this experience that might shed some light on this whole situation? they said everything else seems to look ok and my alpha fetal protien test came back ok too, has anyone had a bad outcome because of a 2 vessel umbilical cord? id like to hear postitive outcomes too please....thanks!

[Katers]

Well, I know this is a little well a lot off subject but I have some concerns about my pregancy and maybe someone knows something about it cause Im a little in the dark.  I'm 19 years old and just got to hear the baby's heart beat and had a sonogram.  The heart beat was strong and good, but my alpha fetal protien test came back abnormal.  I am 14 weeks and im suppose to some back and retest at 15 weeks.  They talked about down syndrom (syndrome) with me a little but I didnt ask much about it guess cause I was shocked.  They said that my baby could hace that.  Im just really worried and wonder how accurate those test are.  The docotor said that th baby looked fine from whathe could tell but that it was stil early.  If my test comes back abnormal again is does my baby really have down syndrom (syndrome)??  I know there is a est they do where they stick a needle in your stomach and draw out amunotic fluid(however you spell it) and check the dna but i heard that has bad side effects like a misscarrage. I thought that down syndrom (syndrome) usually happened to women over 35 arnt I to young??  Can someone shed some light on this for me.  I am very worried.

[stinasmom]

Try not to worry, easier said than done, I know! The same thing happened to my daughters best friend, she did the ammo, everything was OK. But yes, there is a danger of miscarriage because of the ammo test. Make sure your DR. is very familiar with doing the procedure. Also, it is more common in women over 35 but in can happen to anyone, its a chromosone problem. The lab likely screwed up, try not to worry! It's bad for your baby.I hope everything is OK. Good luck!

[camart73]

I just wanted to add my two cents worth....At 19 weeks with my first child I was diagnosed with SUA (single umbilical artery or two vessel cord).  At that time I was sent down to Texas Children's Hospital for an echo-cardiogram u/s to determine and/or rule out heart defects.  I had declined the AFP or triple screen at 16 weeks and also declined an amniocentesis after learning of this defect.  The cardiogram was lengthy (1 1/2 hours) but we learned that all was well with our son.  At 28 weeks I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  I was already closely monitored for the SUA so this just aded to my monitoring.  I had u/s every 4-5 weeks until the last 10 and then it was every 2 weeks.

I am very thankful to God to tell you that my son was born perfectly and more beautiful than I could ever have imagined.  He had apgars of 8 and 9 after an induced labor that ended with a C-section after 17 hours of unproductive labor.  He was 22 inches long and 8 pounds 2 1/2 ounces of pure blessings from God.

IMPORTANT FACT:  DO NOT READ THINGS off the internet about SUA.  The fact is that the majority of the info you receive off the net is stuff written after someone had a BAD experience with something.  Trust reputal sites and the information your doctor gives you.  Make sure your pediatrician knows about SUA when you find one because they will more than likely perform some extra tests on your baby to make sure all is well.

Other than that - trust in God and know that my baby and at least 4 other I know turned out BEAUTIFULLY perfect!!!

[moebius_mummy]

i had an experience with a single vessel umbilical cord i had 7 ultrasounds an they all cam back clear that my baby was healthy but i knew i had a gut feeling that there was something wrong when my daughter was born she was born with major problems she was born missing half her left arm which was not picked up in any of the ultrasounds she was born with major respitry problems when she was 19 days old she had a tracheostomy put in to breath she was born with a cleft palate an really small jaw which is why she couldnt breath by her self she had webbed fingers so my advice to any one in this situation is always get a second opinion trust your instinct an please dont rely on your ultra sounds to be true an ask many of questions an dont leave till you get them because this is very servere an that is what they forget to tell you

[NikkiD]

I am also in my 23 week and was just informed that my baby has a single umbilical artery.  All looks well on him, except that  his limbs are a week behind in growth.  I had an amnio done and the results were all normal.  Has anyone heard of short limbs being a result of a single atrery ?

[Shdwgrl100]

i'm 24 weeks and i was just told that only one artery was found by the umbilical cord do they mean in the umbilical cord and if so what does that mean

[Paula W]

My daughter had the 2 vein cord, when found she was sent to Dallas every month for an Ultrasound to make sure the baby was growing.She was born with no problems at all and happy to say that my granddaughter is now a very healthy 5 year old! Now my daughter is pregant again, just 5 weeks but going for a 3D ultra sound soon to make sure this is not the case again.