One Artery Umbilical Cord

My second son had a 2 vessel cord. He had hydronephrosis in both kidneys, but it resolved without any issues. He also has autism, which may or may not be related. Otherwise, no other concerns.

Hi K.,

I had the same thing and so did a good friend of mine. Neither of us experienced any issues as a result. I was worried when I first found out and my mom talked to a friend of hers who is an OB nurse and she said of all the cases she worked with involving 2-vessel umbilical cords...she had never seen an issue.

My biggest issue was that we were not finding out the sex of the baby and had to have about 8 ultrasounds during my pregnancy.

Good luck and tell your friend not to worry.

Hi - my second pregnancy I only had a 2 vessel cord. The issue is making sure that the baby is getting enough nourishment. I was freaked out about it at first, and looked on-line...dont do that! It did NOT help me, made it worse. I did have extra ultrasounds to make sure that the baby was growing okay, and everything turned out just fine. It is very common, although at the time I had never heard about it at all so again, was at first scared. But, it is not a big deal at all.

Hi K.,

I had the same problem when I was pregnant with my daughter who is now three years old. I was also quite worried. I had an otherwise uneventful pregnancy, though my daughter had a CAT scan or MRI or ultrasound (seriously don't remember) of her kidneys when she was about three months old. They did it at Children's Hospital and found that she had no kidney problems, which I guess can be a potential issue for babies born of women with Single Umbilical Artery. Also, if your friend doesn't know the sex of her baby, I did read that women with Single Umbilical Artery had something like a 4 to 1 chance of giving birth to girls (which I did)! Hope this helps to hear of one person's happy ending!

My now 3 year old had the same thing at birth. He has grown into our most athletic and jovial child. :) Tell her good luck and God's blessings on her bundle of joy. The baby is going to be just wonderful. :) My 3 year old is also the biggest and healthiest of the bunch!

When I was pregnant, we also discovered my daughter had this and I did a little research by googling it and came to the conclusion that there really wasn't much to worry about. In and of itself, the single umbilical cord isn't anything to worry about. There is a higher percentage of babies with SUA that have other defects but just having an SUA doesn't cause any problems. Hey, I just looked this up and it's now in wikipedia (that wasn't around 3 years ago when I had my daughter). Here's the wikipedia posting:

Single Umbilical Artery

Occasionally, there is only the one single umbilical artery (SUA) present in the cord. Approximately 1 in 100 newborns are found to have a SUA, making it the most common umbilical abnormality. It is more common in multiple births. Babies with SUA may have a higher likelihood of having other congenital abnormalities. However, additional testing (high level ultrasound scans) can rule out many of these abnormalities prior to birth and alleviate parental anxiety. Echocardiograms of the fetus may be advised to ensure the heart is functioning properly. Genetic counseling may be useful, too, especially when weighing the pros and cons of more invasive procedures such as chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis.

It is important to note that a diagnosis of SUA, while anxiety provoking, is in no way a guarantee that a fetus is at risk for other problems in utero or after birth. Especially encouraging are cases in which no other soft markers for congenital abnormalities are visible via ultrasound. Prior to ultrasound technology, the only method for determining the presence of a SUA was at birth, following an examination of the placenta. Given that the vast majority of expectant mothers do not receive the kind of advanced ultrasound scanning required to confirm SUA in utero, most cases may never be detected antenatally even today.

Doctors and midwives often suggest parents take the added precaution of having regular growth scans near term to rule out intrauterine growth restriction, which can happen on occasion and warrant intervention. Yet the majority of growth restricted infants with the abnormality also have other defects. Finally, neonates with the finding may also have a higher occurrence of kidney problems, so close examination of the infant may be warranted shortly after birth. Among SUA infants, there is a slightly elevated risk for post-natal urinary infections.

When I was pregnant my doctor thought that my umbilical cord was like that as well. It turns out that it was just fine. The first question would be has she had this confirmed or not...seeing as my was not when looked at more carefully. I did a lot of research about it and talked to a few people who had the problem when I thought that I did as well. Most babies turn out just fine. There is a slightly higher rate of downs syndrome and a couple of other things...but for the most part things turn out okay. I know that I was freaking out when I was in her shoes so I wont say don't be worried because that won't help. I would make sure that she goes in for additional ultra sounds. During my pregnancy I had like 5 because after they thought that something was wrong I was a little freaked and the ultra sounds really helped me. Have your friend talk to her doctor about this. Also my insurance allowed me to go to Dornbecker (spelling?) up in Portland for an ultrasound...which I thought was wonderful. I figured that if anything was wrong they would catch it. They were extreamly good and becuase he wouldn't move properly I actually went up and had a second one done there as well. I hope this helps.

My first child had only two strands in his cord. He is now 11 years old, very smart, active and has no abnormalities. Best wishes! :)

My daughter had SUA (single umbilical artery), my pregnancy was monitored closely, I was induced two weeks early, she was little and perfectly healthy! The doctor will watch the babies growth rate via more frequent ultrasounds and probably do more frequent nst's. She will proabably be induced a little early because the concern can be that the cord won't support a larger baby. From my research complications are rare and reading everything online just makes you worry! My daughter is now three, by age tow she had caught up completely as far as growth. My son was also a small baby and had a normal umbilical cord, so now we think the sua may not have affected her at all!

My daughter was born in March witha two vessel cord. She was perfectly healthy. We had extra ultrasounds to ensure that she was growing normally and that everything else looked okay. I think that typically a 2-vessel cord turns out just fine. Good luck to your friend!

Yes, I too had a 2-vessel cord, as did my sister. I had a healthy, 6 lb, 19 in. baby girl. The main concern with a 2 vessel cord is making sure the baby gets enough nourishment, as there are only 2 cords feeding it vs. 3. So, they will check her fluid levels frequently towards the end of her pregnancy to make sure there is enough amniotic fluid. I had to be induced 9 days early because my fluid levels were low. Other than that, the 2 vessel cord is a common thing that doctors are used to dealing with. So, assure her so long as her doctors are keeping an eye on her fluids, she will have a healthy baby.

Been there, done that! My second child had a two-vessel cord instead of a three. I was freaked out! I did the wrong thing and read up on the internet about it! Needless to say, I read many things I shouldn't have! My doctor did warn me that it could result in many things but there was no way to tell. The biggest concern was intra-uterine growth retardation. Basically, the baby might not be getting enough nutrients to grow properly and would therefore not grow. Because of that possibility I had, I think, 4 extra ultrasounds just to check the growth of the baby. She grew like she was supposed to I got to see her 4 extra times before she was born. She was premature but that had little to do with the cord and more to do with me and my body's inability to carry full-term. She was born healthy and perfectly fine.
Even though the doctor said not to worry about things I still keep in the back of my mind some of the things I had read about it. It can cause kidney problems, so I have kept an eye on her with that. I am still a little worried about her size and don't know if it's due to the two-vessel cord or just her genetic make-up. She'll be two in July and barely wearing 12 month clothes. I'll be checking in with her doctor at her next appt. about that one. I'm very small though so it could just be genetics, poor thing!
One other thing that may go along with the two-vessel cord is the spitfire attitude! Through my pregnancy I talked to every one I could about it because I knew so little and EVERY person I talked to that had the same thing said their baby was born fine and is a real pistol! Mine definitely is that! Keeps me on my toes! I definitely wish I could blame it on the cord!
If your friend would like to chat about it I would be more than happy to. Please give her my email address: ____@____.com Yes, nervous is a very good thing to be, and she wouldn't be a good mommy if she wasn't. But, from all the people I've talked to, a two-vessel cord turns out fine more times than not! Tell her good luck!
M.

I had this for my first daughter (I have 3 kids total, 2 girls and 1 boy) and everything was fine. My daughter is now 5 1/2 years old. After I delivered her, my ob/gyn sent the tissue away to be analized, but I never heard the results.

Hi K.,

Here is a link to an answer by an m.d. to another when asked about this. The reading is a little tough, but gives a little more indepth idea. Please take note at the end of the article that talks about how there are many incidences where this is falsely diagnosed, and that unless abnormalities can be found by ultrasound that the baby probably only needs to continue to be monitored throughout the third trimester for growth.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/530359

hope this helps.

D.
A Blessed Birth Doula Services
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____@____.com

This question was asked in 2008. It is now 2014. My 17 year old daughter was born with a two strand umbilical cord. I was told to watch her kidneys and heart. She was wearing pullups until she was 7 because her bladder was smaller for her age. She had speech problems until she was about 4 or 5. She was diagnosed at 14 with orthostatic hypotension, in other words low blood pressure. She suffers with depression very badly. Some doctors say she is bipolar, others say she has a personality disorder. Reading some of the answers to this question they mention a pistol of a personality. Boy does my daughter have one! At the age of 1 thru 2 she had her own language. We started her with speech therapy and a pyscotherapist. If anyone else out there is having similar problems with their 2 strand child I would appreciate your story. Thanks.

Hey I'm a Neonatal ICU RN, here is what I know about babies with a 2 vessel cord, or single umbilical artery (SUA), there should be 2 arteries and 1 vein. Unfurtunately what I do know indicates problems usually.
SUAs have been reported to increase incidence of fetal anomalies by 30% to 60%. SUA has been associated with anomalies in all major organ systems (eg, the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and central nervous systems). The most common congenital abnormality usually involves the kidneys. In more than half of the cases with a renal basis, the clinical significance is minor. Unfortunately, SUA is associated with an increased risk of such chromosome abnormalities as trisomy 13, trisomy 18, and triploidy.

Data also suggest that the finding of SUA is associated with an increased incidence of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). some reports indicate a higher incidence of preterm delivery and stillbirth. This finding may be related to the association of SUA with chromosomal abnormalities and anomalies of the major organ systems.