umbilical cord around the neck in ultrasound

[Kiara]

Went for a 4d scan the other day and the tec told me that the cord is wrapped around the neck. Is it common that it unwrap it self? The tec told me that if it doesnt it has to be c section. Im only 28 weeks pregnant so it still a big chance that he will detangle himself , isnt there? Is it any risk for the baby in the belly or its only in the delivery? ( the doctor told me that the risk could be in the delivery but I just want to make sure)

[RKT Mama]

The cord being around the neck or a arm or leg is fairly common. The only risk is if it pulls tight during delivery it can make it a bit harder to get the baby out and occasionally can cut off babies blood supply a bit more than usual during contractions can cause fetal distress if baby doesn't cope.

If it is tight around the neck at delivery, they may have to cut it before the body is delivered or 'flip' the baby as it comes out, neither of which will hurt the baby.

It may or may not unwind depending on how the baby moves over the next 12 weeks but I wouldn't worry about it and certainly wouldn't do a C/S for it unless the baby showed signs of distress or issues in labour

[Kiara]

Thank you so much for your answer!

[Coyleof7]

Hi - not sure where you are but where I live you get 2 scans, 12wks and 20wks. You only get more later if there ~may~ be a problem (bleeding, suspected early labour, bump too big/small etc)...so I never had any scans after 20 wks - but all 5 of my kids were born with the cords around the neck and no-one in the delivery room even batted an eyelid, just "pant for a sec will we unwrap the cord" and pop! My second born had a"true knot" in his cord, but was still 100% ok x

[queen-bee]

This worries me too, especially because DS2 also had a knot on his cord when he was delivered. The midwife said "this is a very lucky baby" in a sense that if it's gotten any tighter, he could have died. I had a scan with him at 34 weeks to check his size, but they didn't see it.

[Coyleof7]

That is scary!! I think you should try to keep at the front of your mind how rare the true knots are....I was only told about his knot about an hour after he was born as the midwife asked if she could bring in some students doctors and midwives to look at it!! I honestly think you'll be fine, as someone already mentioned - unless baby gets distressed (and you're not at the point of of pushing) you won't need a CS - but if you do, it's best for baby and you'll know that by doing it that way will bring baby safely into the world xx Best of luck and congrats on your pink bump (you lucky thing you) xx

[atomic sagebrush]

The worry about cords around the neck is now believed to be largely overblown. 2 of my 5 had the cord round the neck, one had an unusually short cord which is actually considered more dangerous than the cord round the neck is. All three born just fine.

I just came across an article yesterday about this issue and thought it was very reassuring, you may want to take a gander at it Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat | MidwifeThinking (http://midwifethinking.com/2010/07/29/nuchal-cords/)

[Kitty0911]

Both my babies had a cord around their neck when they were born. My oldest just had it wrapped around once, but my youngest it was wrapped around three times. They were both born just fine. :)

[Kiara]

Thank you all! Im going to a private clinic so I will do a few more ultrasounds before the delivery. I sounded weird to me that they do c section for that reason (i mean a lot of babies are born with the cord like that) but i am no expert and with my dd I never had that problem.

The thought of c section kind of scares me too. I am scared of the feeling that you cant move (during the surgery) and I am afraid i would feel panic. But on the other hand I had a kind of long and super painful delivery with my dd so im scared of that too:-)

[glory]

I would speak to your OB or midwife and let them know you don't want a C section, if they did not have 4d ultrasounds you would not know if it was there.

Make sure in labour they monitor you with the moniter belt and this will tell you if the baby is in distress at any time, then if need be a C section can be done.

I had an emergency C section for ds1 as he too had a true knot, his was tightening and my OB said he would not be here without the C section as it was already quite tight. The monitoring belt saved his life.

Ds2 had cord around the next but we had an elective C (as we had already had one) and he said it would of only been a 50:50 chance of a C section had we decided to go natural.

[glory]

That is scary!! I think you should try to keep at the front of your mind how rare the true knots are....I was only told about his knot about an hour after he was born as the midwife asked if she could bring in some students doctors and midwives to look at it!! I honestly think you'll be fine, as someone already mentioned - unless baby gets distressed (and you're not at the point of of pushing) you won't need a CS - but if you do, it's best for baby and you'll know that by doing it that way will bring baby safely into the world xx Best of luck and congrats on your pink bump (you lucky thing you) xx

I was told they are very rare too (especially to get through natural labour!) We actually had 3 born in the same week at my hospital (my dr says he may get 1 a year) and it was a really big thing. Turns out all 3 of us were in the same local playgroup, maybe something in the water?

Just to ease you though, only 1 of my 4 had the knot so I wouldn't worry about a repeat.

[RKT Mama]

I work in a maternity unit and despite being told that true knots are rare, I would guess about 1 in a 100 babies seem to have one. I have yet to see a baby die from one despite people getting all excited about them.

The blood vessels in the umbilical cord are covered by Whartons jelly, the rubbery stuff that makes up the cord and prevents the vessels being kinked or squashed too much. The thicker the cord,the better the protection.
Skinny babies that don't grow well usually have skinny cords that are more at risk of being squashed. Of course those are the babies more probe to distress anyway. Chicken and egg scenario.

[glory]

But there are other problems with lack of oxygen at birth, my 8 pound 10oz born son (so not small) has permanent hearing loss in one ear due to the lack of oxygen caused by the knot. It's worth being vigilant about and am just glad I live in a time when we have modern medicine to do this.

[nuthinbutpink]

Cord around the neck and a knot are two different issues. Cord around neck is fine. They will have you push until the head is out and once they see it, they will tell you to stop pushing, assuming its a controlled delivery, while they remove the cord so when you continue to push baby out its not squeezing any further.

I know some of mine had it but it was so in eventful I can't even remember which one had the triple wrap! You should be fine but certainly mention it to everyone so you feel okay about it.

[Mumof3girls]

I had cord wrapped around my third child's neck twice and they told me to stop pushing while they unwrapped it. Afterwards a paediatrician checked her and she was fine.

[Kiara]

thank you all!

[HopingForPigtails]

Yes. As NBP said, chord around the neck is fine. A true knot might be problematic. That said, I had u/s and stress tested with my DS1 because they were worried about his size. But they never saw on the scan that the chord was wrapped 3 times around the neck (thereby shortening it) along with a true knot. I had an emergency C. But you might as well go ahead with a natural birth because you likely won't know about knots or anything until labor is under way!!