Umbilical Cord Around Neck at Birth

A baby inside the womb of its mother, gets all the nourishment and oxygen it needs through the umbilical cord. It also discards waste through it. The umbilical cord is guarded from harm by a jelly-like film which is called Wharton's jelly. The umbilical cord has veins and arteries through which blood flows. The jelly-like substance avoids the compression of the cord. After the childbirth, the cord is cut off. As there are no nerves in the cord, it does not hurt while cutting it off. Some complications related to the umbilical cord involves cord around neck at birth, pressure in umbilical cord during birth, prolapsed cord and knot in the cord. In what follows, we will discuss the cord around the neck at birth problem.

What are the Likely Complications?

A lot of babies (at least thirty percent) are born with some entanglement of the cord. In the case of twins there are chances of the cord getting wrapped around the infants' necks in the womb, especially if they are sharing the same sack. Most of the time, the doctor will simply slip the cord above the head of the baby and deliver it. Sometimes, it is tight and has to be cut off before birth, in which case the baby should be delivered as soon as possible. In cases where the cord is too tight, the baby may suffer from hypoxia, which is insufficient oxygen supply to the brain. Also, the baby receives oxygen through this cord and not through its nose and mouth, so if the cord is too tight or compressed it may pose a problem. The cord may also be wrapped around the shoulder or arm of the infant but that is usually not as important as the case of it being wrapped around the neck. If the cord has been around the baby's neck for too long, its APGAR score may turn out to be low. APGAR is a test conducted on the infant right after its birth. It is based on Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration. It may also go on to develop a brain injury which may develop into cerebral palsy. Also, in most cases when the cord is around the neck, the baby is born reddish, but this becomes normal within a day or two.

How to Prevent it?

First off, visiting your doctor regularly along with following each and every advice given by him, before and during the pregnancy is important. Also, choosing a good hospital for the delivery can make a difference. It is believed that lifting your arms or legs in the pregnancy period causes cord complications like cord around the neck at birth or knotting of umbilical cord, which is not true at all. There is not much that can be done, other than what is mentioned above, to guarantee the non-occurrence of the complications.

To sum up, this condition is nothing too complicated and the delivery will be a normal one. Plus, if suitable efforts are taken at the proper time,then the baby will be born perfectly safe. So try not worrying about it too much as that may have a bad effect on the baby's health.