What is a true umbilical cord knot and how is it dangerous for a fetus?
what is a true knot in pregnancy
Among the various pathologies associated with the presence of defects in the umbilical cord, there are also risks. A true umbilical cord knot is one of these insidious pathologies. This article will tell you what a true umbilical cord knot is and how dangerous it is for a fetus.
What does this mean?
Normally, the umbilical cord or umbilical cord is an elongated "cord." It extends from the baby to the placenta. The umbilical cord can be thought of as a kind of "bridge" that connects an actively developing baby to its mother during pregnancy.
The umbilical cord is quite long. During a normal pregnancy, the length of a healthy umbilical cord is between 50 and 70 cm, the thickness of the umbilical cord is usually about 2 cm. This rather large length causes the umbilical cord to wind into loops or even knots. Doctors consider such nodules to be true.
It should be noted that this pathology is quite rare in obstetric practice. If you focus on statistics, you will notice that true umbilical cord knots appear in about 1% of cases. However, this pathological condition is extremely dangerous. It can significantly worsen the course of pregnancy and even contribute to the development of dangerous pathologies in the fetus.
Reasons for education
Diagnostics
It should be noted right away that the definition of true nodules on the umbilical cord is a rather difficult task. Usually, such changes are detected by doctors retrospectively - after the birth of a child. After the birth of the afterbirth and the umbilical cord, doctors can carefully examine them. During this inspection, as a rule, true nodules are detected.
It should be noted that sometimes nodules of the umbilical cord are still found during an ultrasound scan. This usually becomes possible when the research is carried out on the devices of the expert level by an experienced and qualified specialist. The difficulty in finding real nodules on the umbilical cord is that the umbilical cord is quite long. An examination ultrasound specialist is not always able to examine every inch of it.
The presence of a knot in the umbilical cord can be suspected by Dopplerography. This method allows to assess the blood flow in the umbilical vessels. A decrease in blood flow in certain parts of the umbilical cord is one of the signs that may indicate the presence of a knot.
If during pregnancy the umbilical cord nodes were found in the expectant mother during an ultrasound scan, she will be closely monitored in the future. In the time remaining before delivery, the doctor will necessarily assess the condition of the fetus. For this, cardiotocography is often used. Thanks to this diagnostic test, you can determine the heart rate of a baby, as well as his motor activity.
Monitoring the baby's activity can be done by the expectant mother herself. As a rule, she already feels a baby in her stomach quite well in the second half of pregnancy.
Consequences for the fetus
Imagine that the full development of the fetus without an umbilical cord is impossible. Thanks to this unique organ, which appears in the woman's body only during pregnancy, the fetus receives all the nutrients necessary for its growth. A baby in the womb cannot eat on its own. He receives all the necessary proteins, fats and carbohydrates from his mother's blood. Then the nutrients pass through the blood vessels located directly inside the umbilical cord.
Through the blood of the umbilical cord, the fetus receives oxygen dissolved in the blood. During prenatal life, the child's lungs do not work. The respiratory system will function fully only after the baby is born and takes his first breath in life. Until then, the fetus receives dissolved oxygen through the system of vessels of the umbilical cord - from his mother.
The umbilical cord plays another important role: it is involved in the utilization of metabolites. Through the system of umbilical vessels, the fetus "gets rid" of chemical waste that is not necessary for its body. It is possible to ensure the functions of the umbilical cord if during pregnancy certain anomalies or defects do not develop in the umbilical cord. The presence of knots contributes to the fact that the blood vessels of the umbilical cord, pinch. In this case, the blood supply of the child and the placenta is disrupted.
Lack of oxygen in the blood contributes to the fact that the baby develops an extremely dangerous disease - intrauterine hypoxia. It is dangerous because the blood supply to the internal organs of the child is significantly reduced. This leads to disruption of their functioning.
In some cases, it is possible to determine the effects of prolonged intrauterine hypoxia in the baby only after birth. Children who have experienced this pathology during prenatal development may have a lower birth weight, weak immunity, as well as a number of concomitant congenital diseases. In some cases, persistent intrauterine hypoxia can contribute to the formation of a number of pathologies of the nervous system.
Umbilical cord thrombus is another possible complication that can develop if there are real knots on the umbilical cord. In the tight section of the umbilical cord, blood flow is significantly reduced. The slowdown in blood flow contributes to the fact that blood platelets (platelets) begin to stick together faster, which leads to the formation of blood clots.
Through the thrombosed umbilical cord, full blood flow is not possible. In such a situation, the child's body does not receive enough nutrients and oxygen. The more the lumen of the umbilical cord blood vessels is closed, the more unfavorable the prognosis of the subsequent pregnancy. Unfortunately, in this situation, the risk of abortion (and even stillbirth) is high.