During pregnancy, pathologies can develop, in the process of which the umbilical cord is involved. One of them is the umbilical cord entanglement of the fetus. This article will tell you in detail about whether a single umbilical cord entanglement of the fetus is dangerous during pregnancy.
What is it?
The fetus in the mother's womb receives all the nutrients for its growth and development through the umbilical cord (umbilical cord). Inside this unique organ are the blood vessels that supply oxygen to the baby's body, as well as nutrients necessary for intrauterine development. Normally, the umbilical cord is an elongated cord or "cord" that is about 50–70 cm long.
However, in obstetric practice, there are cases when the umbilical cord is lengthened. In such a situation, it can curl up, forming loops. Single entanglement of the umbilical cord is a pathology in which the umbilical cord covers the body of the child once.
The umbilical cord entanglement can occur in different areas. So, the fetus can be entwined with the umbilical cord at the level of the neck, abdomen or limbs. Single entanglement often occurs in early pregnancy, when the baby is small and very active.
If the umbilical cord entanglement occurs much earlier than 30 weeks of pregnancy, then in such a situation it is possible that the child will "unravel" on its own. If there is a sufficient amount of amniotic fluid in the uterus, and the child is medium-sized, then it will be quite easy for him to do this.
If doctors find that the baby is entwined with the umbilical cord at 36–38 weeks of gestation, then the possibility of independent "untangling" is already significantly reduced. The large size of the baby at the final stage of pregnancy before childbirth does not allow him to make active movements, as before. This contributes to the fact that the entanglement of the umbilical cord in this case will be preserved immediately until the very birth.
Consequences for the child
The prognosis of the further course of pregnancy with this pathology may be different. Doctors note that the intrauterine development of the fetus in such a complicated pregnancy largely depends on the clinical variant of entanglement.
Experts distinguish a tight and loose cord entanglement. When tightly wrapped around the loops of the umbilical cord, the child's torso is squeezed quite tightly. If the fetus is not tightly wrapped around the umbilical cord loops, then they speak of a loose entanglement. Each of these clinical variants of pathology has its own developmental characteristics.
Untidy
This clinical variant is perhaps more favorable. Reviews of women who have encountered this pathology during pregnancy also confirm this. When not tightly entwined, the umbilical cord loops are at some distance from the child's body. There is a small space between them and the baby's skin. With such a clinical variant of the pathology, it is much easier for the baby to "untangle". With no entanglement, as a rule, there is no squeezing of the baby's internal organs, which means that he does not develop dangerous pathologies.
The prognosis of the course of pregnancy with this clinical variant of the pathology is usually favorable. If the pregnancy is not complicated by any other conditions, then doctors can even allow natural childbirth. In this case, the tactics of giving birth are important: after the birth of the head, the obstetrician with his hand can carefully remove the loop of the umbilical cord from the child's body. So the biomechanism of childbirth will not be disturbed.
If complications develop even during an initially normal delivery, then a caesarean section can be performed in such a situation. Usually this operation is performed to save the baby's life.
Tight
This option is already less favorable. If the umbilical cord is tightly wrapped around the baby's body during pregnancy, certain complications may develop. This condition is quite dangerous, since there is a rather high risk of developing hypoxia. Many expectant mothers think that intrauterine hypoxia develops if the umbilical cord loop is on the baby's neck. They believe that the umbilical cord squeezes the neck, where the trachea is located, which leads to impaired breathing in the child. It is a myth.
During intrauterine life, the fetus receives oxygen dissolved in the blood, since its lungs cannot yet function independently. Oxygen then enters through the umbilical blood vessels, which are located in the umbilical cord. A tight entanglement can lead to the fact that the umbilical cord is pinched in some areas. This can contribute to a decrease in blood flow, and therefore to the development of oxygen deficiency in the fetus.
In such a situation, the baby's internal organs (including the vital ones) cease to develop fully. The threat of developing congenital pathologies in a baby is quite high. With tight entanglement, doctors necessarily assess the degree of change in blood flow through the umbilical vessels. To do this, they prescribe Doppler sonography to the expectant mother. With this painless diagnostic method, doctors receive information about how blood flows in the umbilical arteries and veins.
With a single tight umbilical cord entanglement of the fetus, the blood flow in the umbilical vessels may not be disturbed. In this case, pregnancy develops normally, and the risk of developing dangerous complications is quite low.
If the blood flow through the umbilical vessels is disturbed, then the threat of the development of dangerous pathologies is already higher. In such a situation, a more careful medical observation is carried out for the expectant mother and her baby.
In this case, a pregnant woman will need to visit her doctor more often, as well as an ultrasound diagnostic room. If necessary, the expectant mother will be additionally assigned cardiotocography - a method to assess the cardiac activity and motor activity of the fetus. If intrauterine fetal hypoxia is detected, which has arisen due to a single entanglement with the umbilical cord, doctors may even resort to prescribing medications. For therapy, agents are selected that have a positive effect on blood flow.
According to the indications, antispasmodics are prescribed, as well as antiplatelet agents. The doctor may prescribe vitamin therapy, which, as a rule, is applied for quite a long time.
If the condition of the fetus against the background of the developed pathology deteriorates greatly, then in this case the expectant mother can be hospitalized in a hospital (for intensive treatment). In the later stages of pregnancy, the question of setting a date for early obstetric care may be considered. Usually, these measures are used in the development of a number of complications that are possible with a single umbilical cord entanglement of the fetus.
For information on whether it is dangerous to entangle the umbilical cord, see the next video.
