Many women after ultrasound scare doctors' conclusion that the umbilical cord has 2 vessels instead of three, as expected. Doctors do not always give detailed information, and future moms are very worried about the questions - what can it do to the child and what can be done to avoid the consequences. 2 vessels in the umbilical cord - this is a common anomaly, the result of which can be malformations of the fetus, often the heart suffers.
How many vessels should an umbilical cord have?
The umbilical cord (umbilical cord) is the organ that connects the fetus with the mother's body, it reaches a length of 50-70 cm or more. The umbilical cord should have three vessels, namely: two arteries and one vein. With aplasia (incorrect development) of one artery of the umbilical cord, an abnormality arises - the umbilical cord 2 of the vessel, i.e. one artery and one vein. The artery carries fetal blood, saturated with carbon dioxide and waste products of metabolism to the mother placenta. The umbilical vein carries blood, which is enriched with oxygen and nutrients, from the mother placenta to the baby. In childbirth, 2 vessels in the umbilical cord can cause fetal hypoxia, therefore caesarean section is shown in such cases. During childbirth, the baby needs to be given maximum attention, as blood flow can be impaired when cutting the umbilical cord.
During pregnancy it is necessary to seem genetics to exclude chromosomal abnormalities (the doctor usually suggests doing cardocene - a blood test taken from the umbilical cord). Also up to 24 weeks, you need to make an ultrasound of the fetal heart (to prevent possible heart disease) and an extended ultrasound of all organs. In order to prevent violations, doctors appoint bi-weekly CTG and doppler.
Practice shows that the number of umbilical cord vessels rarely affects the child's further health. And the birth of a baby with deviations in this case is more likely an exception: in the further life of the child, one artery does not matter.