Umbilical Cord Complications: Things You Didn’t Know About

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During pregnancy, the umbilical cord is an
emotional and physical connection between the
mother and her baby. Some poets even take the
poetic liberty to call the umbilical cord the
string of life. Undeniably, this cord is the
route to love and nurture, while the baby is
still in the womb. The umbilical cord structure
allows the transfer of oxygen and nutrients from
the maternal circulation, while simultaneously
removing the waste products from the foetus.
Therefore, whatever the baby needs for survival
inside the womb reaches him or her via this cord. 
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The Umbilical Cord Structure The umbilical cord
is a rope-like structure which is formed during
the early phases of the embryonical development.
It is a soft, tortuous cord with a smooth outer
covering of the amnion. It has three blood
vessels and one vein. It has a substance called
Whartons jelly that keeps these blood vessels
protected. The umbilical cord starts forming at
about 4 weeks of pregnancy and the normal length
of the umbilical cord is 50-60 cm. Most of the
time, during the prenatal doctor visits, a
pregnant woman undergoes an ultrasound scan,
where the doctor checks the umbilical cord
conditions to check the babys growth. Rather,
the doctor checks the umbilical cord
complications. That further means, the doctor
checks whether
Theres Velamentous Cord Insertion Basically, in
normal pregnancies, the umbilical cord attaches
itself in the middle of the placental mass and is
completely covered by the amniotic sac.
However, in this kind of complication, the cord
attaches itself in the foetal membranes without
the Whartons Jelly, thus causing a loss of
foetal blood. Such an instance in the umbilical
cord is significantly high in vitro fertilisation
(IVF), as compared to normal pregnancies.
And this happens in about 20 IVF pregnancies and
10 normal pregnancies. 
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Theres A Battledore Cord Insertion Battledore
means a tool with a long flat blade with a square
end that is used in glass-working to flatten the
bottoms of vessels. When the umbilical cord is
attached to the placental margin, it is known as
battledore cord insertion and that is reported in
7 of term pregnancies. Theres a Marginal Cord
Insertion A marginal umbilical cord insertion
occurs when the cord attaches on the side of the
placenta instead of in the middle. In this case,
the sides of the placenta are much weaker. They
have less tissue as compared to the middle part
of the placenta, where the cord is supposed to
get attached. This condition occurs in 7.8
singleton pregnancies and 16.9 twin pregnancies,
giving rise to pre-eclampsia in the expectant
mother, pre-term birth and delivery by acute
caesarean. Due to the presence of marginal cord
insertion, birth defects in babies are also
expected. Theres Single Umbilical Artery Single
umbilical artery, is when an artery is missing
from the umbilical cord. 20 of the babies in
this condition have heart, kidney and genetic
problems. During an ultrasound, the doctor checks
for the birth defect in babies.  
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• Theres Umbilical Cord Prolapse
• In this condition, the umbilical cord slips into
  the vagina before the baby, at the time of birth
  and can get pinched. The babys oxygen also gets
  compromised leading to 
• pre-mature birth, 
• low birth weight, 
• breech position, 
• membrane rupture 
• too much of amniotic fluid 
• umbilical cord being too long  
• stillbirth (at times) 
• An emergency c-section is usually performed in
  such cases.

Theres A Nuchal Cord Usually random movement of
the baby inside the womb is one of the main
reasons behind the nuchal cord. However, other
factors might include the umbilical cord wrapping
around the babys neck (due to an extra-long
umbilical cord) or theres extra amniotic fluid
(which allows the baby to move around in the
womb). According to the study of 2018, 12
deliveries had nuchal cord. Delivering a baby
with such loops doesnt involve many risks.
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There Are Umbilical Cord Knots This happens
mostly when the umbilical cord is too long and
the baby wraps it around his or her neck before
birth. This condition also occurs when there are
identical twins in pregnancy, who share the same
amniotic sac and the cord gets entangled. 1 in
100 pregnancies undergo this condition. If the
knot becomes very tight, the babys oxygen gets
compromised, leading to miscarriage or
stillbirth. An emergency c-section is
necessitated during this condition. Theres An
Umbilical Cord Cyst An umbilical cord cyst refers
to any cystic lesion, or sac of fluid, on the
umbilical cord. They have irregular shapes and
may exist anywhere along the umbilical cord,
generally between blood vessels. This condition
is common in 1 out of 100 pregnancies. Single
cyst may not cause any adverse effect to
pregnancy or the developing baby, but multiple
cysts are associated with increased risk of
miscarriage, and foetal growth restriction.

• What Are The Causes Of Such Complications?
• Such complications in the umbilical cord are
  caused due to
• The length of the cord (long or short)
• When the cord is not connecting to the placenta
  properly and 
• When the cord is getting squeezed or knotted 

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Cutting the Umbilical Cord Once the baby is
delivered, either vaginally or via C-section, the
doctor checks the pulsating rhythm of the cord.
Then the cord is disinfected and the vein is
punctured to clamp and cut it a few inches apart,
by placing a gauze under the section and using
sterile scissors. This cutting of the umbilical
cord after delivery, is absolutely harmless and
painless.
Cord Blood Banking Earlier, however, after the
cord-cutting took place, it was a common practice
to treat the cord as a medical waste. But, with
the advent of science and stem cell therapy, it
has been found out that, the cord blood is packed
with enormous haematopoietic (blood-forming) stem
cells, which has the capacity to differentiate
itself into different blood cells, showing
its potential in treating over 80
life-threatening diseases. So, after the birth of
the baby, the caregiver collects the cord blood
in a sterile bag to send it for quality testing,
processing and cord blood banking.
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Source https//www.cordlifeindia.com/blog/umbilic
al-cord-complications/