First and foremost an umbilical cord does not pose any damage to your baby. This could go on to cause major problems in the form of still birth, miscarriage and various birth defects. This condition can be found before pregnancy or till the point when the baby is due for birth. In case if you figure out that you are suffering from such a condition an emergency C section may be called for to keep the baby safe and secure.
More about umbilical cord problems?
Before we proceed, we need to outline how does an umbilical cord work in the first place. Basically a cord establishing a connection between a mother and a baby. Around 4 weeks in pregnancy this connection is figured out and it works out to be around 22 cms long. In fact the cord could be too short or even too long, not even establishing a connection to the placenta and these conditions could cause issues during the time of birth and labor.
If any of the conditions are found the health care provider might detect with the aid of an ultrasound during pregnancy. With the help of sound waves along with a computer screen a picture of the baby inside the womb is detected.
The prolapse of an umbilical cord?
The prolapse of an umbilical cord occurs when it slips on to the vagina before birth and even labor. As the cord could be pinched the baby is not in a position to avail enough amount of oxygen. The possibility of such an incident happening is less and it occurs in 1, out of 3000 births. The chances of such a situation increases in the following cases
- If the baby appears to be a premature one. This means that they are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. If you are born in this manner you are expected to face a lot of problems in life that can continue in the days to come
- The baby appears to be overweight as they tend to weigh less than 5 pounds at the time of birth
- The baby is in a breech position meaning that the head is not down at the time of birth
- The umbilical cord appears to be fairly long
- The membranes are ruptured in order to speed up the process of labor.
- The possibility of too much of amniotic fluid also increases.
- If the mother is carrying more than a single baby
In most of the cases prolapse with umbilical cord does not occur. In case if your baby is not availing sufficient amount of oxygen if the cord is punched this may cause still birth till the baby is expected to be born. This is basically a type of birth where a baby dies in the womb after staying there for 20 weeks.
In case if you feel that the water breaks and feel something in the vagina then proceed to the doctor straight away. In case if the cord is pinched they might ask you to undertake an emergency C section.
