Umbilical Cord Prolapse: Everything That You Need To Know

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The umbilical cord is a rope-like structure,
which is soft and tortuous. It is made up of
three blood vessels and one vein. While the vein
carries oxygen and food from you to your baby,
the two arteries carry the waste back to the
placenta. At the time of childbirth, your babys
head pops out of your womb first. The umbilical
cord and placenta come right after your babys
exit. But, is that the norm always? Maybe not.
Due to some umbilical cord complications like
velamentous, battledore, or marginal cord
insertion, and so on, the babys position at the
time of delivery may turn out to be slightly
different. Among the various umbilical cord
complications, umbilical cord prolapse is also
one of them.
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What Is An Umbilical Cord Prolapse?
Umbilical cord prolapse takes place before your
baby is born. The cord that connects you to your
baby during pregnancy, slips into the vagina and
gets pinched at the time of delivery. In fact,
the cord hangs in between the foetal presentation
(babys head) and the cervix or the vagina.
How Many Types of Cord Prolapse Are There? 
Based on what position is the baby in at the time
of moving out of your womb umbilical cord
prolapse can be of three types. They include
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Overt Cord Prolapse
Once the membranes have ruptured, the cord falls
into the vagina via your cervix, before the
babys head enters the birth canal.
Funic Presentation
In this situation, the umbilical cord is directed
towards the internal cervical or lower uterine
segment.
Occult Cord Prolapse
In this condition, the cord may be next to
the baby in the birth canal, but it may not be
visible to your doctor at the time of childbirth.
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What Are The Reasons For Cord Prolapse?
There may be several reasons behind the umbilical
cord prolapse condition, but some of the common
reasons include
Premature Rupture of the Membranes
It may occur when the membranes or amniotic sac
rupture very early. It may also happen when the
healthcare provider ruptures the membrane
artificially. Then the cord may emerge first,
however, the babys head is still high in the
uterus. Moreover, as the baby slowly moves out of
the womb, cord compression also occurs.
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Excessive Amniotic Fluid
As a result of an excessive amount of amniotic
fluid, (polyhydramnios), the fluid pressure
pushes the cord out.
Delivering Twins
If you are pregnant with twins or more, when the
first child pops out of the womb, the baby pushes
the cord of the second one out also.
Baby in Breech Position
During childbirth, the babys head pops out of
the vagina first. However, when the baby is in
a breech position, the baby will have his or her
feet or butt or both towards the birth canal. As
a result, the cord will get space to come out.
The Unusual Length of the Umbilical Cord
A prolapse may also result from abnormally long
umbilical cords.
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What Are The Signs and Symptoms of Cord Prolapse? 
Cord prolapse is a rare condition. According to
studies, umbilical cord prolapse occurs in 1 in
300 births. As a result of prolonged cord
compression, the blood flow to the baby may not
be sufficient. Along with this, the oxygen supply
would also be compromised resulting in these
symptoms or complications 

• Irregular foetal heartbeat.
• The decline in the foetal heart rate.
• Foetal death or stillbirth.

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What Are The Cord Prolapse Management Methods?
Although the complications of cord prolapse can
be detected by constant foetal monitoring towards
the end of the pregnancy, however, if you feel
the cord is already out, consult your healthcare
practitioner immediately. As you might have to
visit the hospital, where your healthcare
provider will take an ultrasound scan and pelvic
examination before the delivery of your baby to
detect cord prolapse and to further treat it.
Therefore, here are the cord prolapse treatment
methods 

• At the delivery time, the healthcare provider may
  ask you to take a comfortable position.
• The doctor may also prefer immediate delivery of
  your baby. As that would be the safest way.
• Vaginal delivery may be safer in this case, but
  an emergency c-section may also be necessitated.

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Once your cord is out before the delivery of your
baby, the doctor will ensure that your little one
is out soon. Moreover, suppose you have planned
to bank your babys stem cells way before the
delivery of your baby, after clamping the
umbilical cord. In that case, the cord blood is
collected and sent to the lab for processing the
stem cells and storing for over two decades with
the best cord blood bank. After all, the
umbilical cord blood has essential stem cells
to treat over 80 medical conditions and to secure
your and your familys healthy future.
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THANKS!
Do you have any questions? You can find us at
info_at_cordlifeindia.com Toll Free Number 1800 121
6200 Website www.cordlifeindia.com
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eech-position/