Has Any Mom Had This Condtion While Pregnant?

I also had a single vessel cord with my first baby. I was very worried and, working in the childbirth field talked to many doctors and midwives. Very experienced midwives told me it was nothing at all to worry about. They used to not even test for this in pregnancy and just noticed after birth when the cord had only two vessels - hardly note worthy. If you look on the internet you will find people who did have other problems associated with a 2 vessel cord and it can seem like a likelihood - just be aware of what a rarity that is.
My pregnancy and birth were lovely and my 16 month old daughter is perfect.

The umbilical cord is supposed to have two arteries and one vein. Sometimes the fetus will have only one artery and one vein. There are conditions associated with having only one artery, which is why they will look for other things. Most of the time the baby is fine. In the days before ultrasound this would be found at birth. My sister, who is 45 now, was born with only one artery - she is fine. By the way I work in a Newborn intensive care nursery, so my comments are professional as well as personel. Try not to worry too much. Odds are things will be ok.

I had this problem with my now 2 month old. The ultrasound showed that despite the missing artery the organs were in tact. From what my doctor told me, when the see one artery, they worry that one kidney is compromised. If they see two healthy kidneys on the ultrasound (mine did) then they expect the baby to be fine. My doctor had a pediatrician on alert and ready to check the baby at birth to be sure. All was well! Of course it is almost impossible not to worry (at least for me) but it sounds like the same situation. The doctor also told me that sometimes the ultrasound tech can't see the artery even though it is there. That's another possibility. I will reiterate -- if the organs look good, they say there is nothing to worry about. I hope that helps her breathe a little easier!

I had this condition as well, my son had all his organs as well, I had twice weekly ultrasounds and baby monitoring. My doctor thought if anything was going to be wrong it would be with his kidneys. Well, he was born with several heart defects, so my best advice would be that she gets another ultrasound that will pay close attention to the heart area, then directly after the birth, demand an echocardiogram. My son had surgery at12 days young, he is still facing more, but he is 8 now and doing fine. J.

Dear F.,

I'm not sure what exactly the problem is but when I was pregnant with my older son who is 6 now, I had this condition that my umbilical cord had one artery instead of two but it was wider than usual. I still remember how worried I got and how much I cried after we found out. I did several tests like checking the heart of baby and also they needed to monitor his growth reguraly by doing Ultra Sound every few weeks. Thanks God he was born healthy and is in Kindergarten now.

Hope it helps.
N.

Yes, my second child was diagnosed with SUA (single umbilical artery), and I was worried sick after reading information on the Internet. The level 2 ultrasound and cardiac evaluation showed that all was well, which helped get me through the rest of the pregnancy. The baby was perfectly healthy at birth, with the exception of an inguinal hernia that had nothing to do with the SUA. My opinion is that we have become more aware of SUA as ultrasound technology has improved. Previous data was based on post-mortem examinations, so the data are highly skewed toward the negative outcomes. My son is three now, and he was a healthy, full-term, 9+ pound baby. Reassure your DIN that positive thoughts and energy are what her baby needs right now. As long as the extensive tests showed no signs of trouble, she should not be worried. Best of luck to you and your family. :-)

I had this with my first child. She turned out beautiful, healthy and perfectly normal! At the time, my OB/GYN told me not to worry, that this is a fairly routine thing that happens, and most of the time there are no issues with it at all. Best of luck!!

I had a very similar issue...my sons umbilical cord was attached wrong, at an angle. I went thru 11 weeks of monitoring...and prepared for a premie baby, with issues....he was 8 lbs, and perfect!!! What a shock to the room full of doctors when he was born!! No problems as a result, he is almost 4 years old now!

Yes - my son was born Thanksgiving two years ago. I had the amnio done as I am over 40 and all came back perfect. At one time I was told he was breech, then he was not. Then I was told he had only 1 artery in the umbilical cord but not to worry as all the other tests came back negative.
Well, he was born with VATER Syndrome (vacteral, anal, trachea, esophageal fistula, radial) each letter is an element. What it is - he has 13 ribs one side, 11 on the other, some babies are born without a butthole, thankfully he had his, his trachea was connected to his stomach rather than the esophagus and that was the major problem, and radial issues some babies are born with thumbs and feet in club form. He had a small amount of difficulty with his thumbs but that is better now. VATER effects 1 in 4000 babies so it could have been a fluke but along with this, he has GERD (reflux) and that is common in babies with one artery. There is not a lot to do if the doctors feel everything else is good - hope for the best and stay on top of the visits. Any feeling she has that doesn't feel right - get to the doctor right away and don't let them just come in for a 3 minute consult. Get them to check thoroughly her feelings. Mom's gut instincts are usually correct.
Good luck - stay in touch if you need.
T.

I have the same 2 vessel cord and at 28 weeks everything has checked out just fine. We had a fetal echocardiogram done looking specifically at the heart and all functions are normal. If your daughter in law has not had this diagnostic sonogram, she should ask her care provider about it. Our baby is due in late July.

I am also going through this. Fortunately I work in a hospital setting where I was able to ask questions to multiple neonatoligist who have been in the field for a really long time. They spoke to me as if you have had ultrasounds that are completely normal, as well as all the genetic markings testing that is normal. They call it a normal variation with pregnancy. Of course my baby is not born yet, but they say in this case not to worry, most babies are born perfectly healthy and you would never have known it.

I believe what you are talking about is a two vessel cord. My daughter had the same with my granddaughter. Things to watch are cleft lip, club foot along with the heart related issues and spina bifida. My granddaughter was born without any of these things although they did check her heart before birth. She does have a small dimple in the crack of her behind where spina bifida would be but fortunately it is closed. I contribute the fact to my daughter taking liquid vitamins while she was pregnant as they are much more absorbable than that big hard pill. Low birth weight can also be an issue so they will probably give her many ultrasounds along the way. You can get liquid vitamins at any vitamin store or on line. My daughter took Biometics. Your daughter in law may also have less amniotic fluid so tell her to keep her fluids up. Lots of water or anything else she enjoys that is on the clear side. Avoid too much salt. Try not to worry too much until they identify something is actually wrong. My beautiful granddaughter is a happy healthy 2 1/2 year old who talks up a storm and we are proud to say totally potty trained! Web MD is a great source of info if you need more. But please really convince her on the liquid vitamins ASAP. Best Wishes from a Mom of three and Grandmom of almost three. Yes the next one is due now! :)

Hi F.,

It is always so scary when we get news like this! Some studies have shown that having one artery increases the babies risk of other complications, but this alone doesn't always mean that there is a problem. Although having two arteries and one vein may be "ideal", I have worked with several women over the years who have had one artery istead of two and none of them have had any problems with thier births or babies that were related to the umbilical artery. I have seen the artery be much bigger in these umbilical cords, probably compensating for the two. (Just my opinion) I hope your daughter-in-law can focus on the fact that everything else looks good in the ultrasound. Ultrasounds are picking up more and more things earlier than ever before and this can sometimes cause stress and worry during pregnancy. There are never any guarantees, but it sounds as if everything else looks great and I hope your son and daughter(and you!)can enjoy this special time in your lives. If you have any more questions feel free to contact me. Take care and I am sending you all peaceful calming thoughts.