Pregnancy fact or fiction: Umbilical cords

This happened to me with my third child. Luckily, he is okay.

A month before he was due, he was not moving around like he usually did. I tried to get him moving all day, but he was sluggish. I finally called my doctor at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night. She told me that she trusted my instincts and recommended I go to the hospital to do some stress tests on the baby. I drove over and went with only a fluff magazine, thinking I was just being dramatic.

After a series of borderline tests and a meeting with the OB on staff, I was surprised when my OB walked through the door. She said I was having the baby in the next 30 minutes and I should call my husband and family. Talk about shock. She said the baby looked fine right now, but we needed to get him out ASAP.

In a hushed surgery room 30 minutes later, my son was born. The nurses during the surgery were obviously nervous and thought something horrible could happen. My son had 3 knots in his cord and it was wrapped around his neck two times. He had been struggling in utero, but once he was out, he was fine. It was really an amazing call by my doctor.

The other OBs on staff and the nurses later came to visit me and see the "miracle baby". They told me that because of my instincts and my doctor's diligence, my son made it.

I've told all of my pregnant friends this story not to scare them, but to encourage them to trust their instincts. I have a healthy little boy because I knew something was wrong.

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DD10's cord was tucked under her chin & cutting off her blood supply when I tried to push, so we were pushed to the OR at a flat-out run for a c-section. Doc made the incision right as we realized my epidural had failed. Now THAT is a story I do tell expectant moms, and advise they give themselves a huge pinch before a c-section to make sure that epidural took, because that is a pain one never forgets.

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This is how my cousins 2nd child died in utero.

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My niece Maggie died the same way quite close to full term.

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Both of my babies was born with a cord around their necks. Ashton's cord was wrapped twice and not sure about Ella but Ella's heart stopped or wasn't breathing so that was a scary moment. Both kids are fine, thankfully but it was really scary. I was just really lucky to have experienced midwives and a oncall pediatrician team for Ella. It does happen to pretty almost anyone I know including myself. Unfortunately, some doesn't end up a success story but that is a low percentage of total births and I agree with one of the poster, trust your instincts. Go to the doctor anytime you have a funny feeling.

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Like all things in life, birth has risks; however, a wrapped cord is actually a lower risk than a knotted one (rare!) as it was pointed out, the child is not using its lungs until after birth. Lots of healthy babies come out with a cord around the neck; a skilled midwife or OB will also know how to "somersault" them as they exit to unwrap the cord, if necessary.

Having a cord that's previous (ahead of the child) is more of a risk because it could both keep the child from being born and cut off blood supply. However, good midwives and OBs are skilled at spotting these incidents.

It helps to remember that life is full of risks for your child after they are born, too--that's what makes being a parent hard. Worrying about birth problems is no different than worrying about your child having an accident of any kind, and that's a worry you learn to live with as a mom, as much as you can.

And remember that *most* kids do just fine at birth, and after. Try not to focus on unlikely outcomes.

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My daughter had the cord wrapped around her neck twice. The doc sounded a little panicky when he told me to stop pushing but I did Bradley so, no meds, no problem.. .just take a break....he flipped the cord loops over her head and she came out just fine. She came about 5 weeks early but I was a pre-eclamptic mess so I think it was the PIH not the cord that got my labor moving....
The important thing to remember is the cord is not floppy like after the baby is born, it is generally stiff and flexy like a new garden hose because of the large full blood vessels pumping from the placenta, so it can do some wrapping late term and not cause damage.

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My son was born with a knot in his cord. He was fine, but pretty scary to know that it could have caused him to be stillborn.

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SI! Yes!! My dear friend Blanca just lost her baby girl 2 weeks before her due date! Her cord had wrapped around her neck & she stopped moving, but when Blanca went to the hospital, it was too late they said & they induced labor & she was stillborn!! Aye! Pobrecita Nina! Dios Mio! Pobre Blanca!! (My God! Poor Baby! Poor Blanca!)

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my 3rd childs cord was wrapped around his neck and my doctor just unwrapped inbetween contractions after his head came out. i know that it happens and the outcome can be really bad, but also know that it happens and things are still okay. i barely had time to know what was going on before i had to push again. and the doctor told me afterwards. i am truly sorry to those who have lost precious babies this way, but want other mothers to know that it doesn't always have a bad outcome (or a scary one).

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My daughter passed away from an umbilical cord accident. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice and it ended up strangling her. I was 7 months pregnant. I also work in L&D and it referred to as a nuchal cord, a lot of infants are born with a nuchal. They are all usually easily reduced and cause no significant problems.

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my son's umbilical cord was wrapped about his neck in such a way that every contraction caused his heartbeat to almost disappear from the monitor. we didn't understand why his heart had stopped functioning normally until after an emergency section. thankfully, once he was out, his heart picked right back up and he's a marvelous, healthy little boy.

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PLEASE bank your child's umbilical cords at a public cord bank. This is what the American Academy of Pediatricians is recommending. I just attended a function where the head of research for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society spoke about the latest advances. Parents, this is it! Stem cells from your own child's cord could save many, many lives!
Thank you from a family with 3 blood cancer victims/survivors.
Interested in supporting the LLS? Join "Team in Training"- run, bike, hike, sail, triathalons, walk. Or participate in "Light the Night" events by you. Thanks.

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I had the cord wrapped around my neck-they gave my Mom drugs and kicked my Dad out of the room,preparing to do an emergency C-section. Last minute it came untangled and I was born vaginally, no problems. My second son was born with the cord wrapped around him but it didn't cause problems. It was actually a bigger deal that some meconium came out before he was born and it had to be cleaned off him so he could breathe better. My fourth child was born with a knot in the cord, no problems.

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I had a perfect pregnancy and perfect labor until out of nowhere it went so bad so quickly. My sons heartrate dropped incredibly fast and I was rushed into emergency surgery to get him out. When they got him out, the cord was wrapped around him three times. Once around his neck, once around his arm and once around one leg...It was wrapped so many times and stretched so much that it was determined that the major vessel that supplies the baby with blood was damaged. He died about 20 minutes after he was born. He just didn't have enough blood in his little body to sustain him. I am absolutely heartbroken. I'm afraid to try again.

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My daughter dies 2 weeks before her due date in April this year due to cord being wrapped around her neck twice. I did not feel her move for half a day, went to the hospital to get checked. She had no heartbeat. There was nothing anyone could do to save here. I am heartbroken. It was my first and the last as I cannot have any more children.

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