Cord Around Neck At Birth?

[midori1999]

I'm not sure if this is the right section. Sorry.

My SIL was induced yesterday morning, one week overdue and had her baby boy last night, weighing 7lb. We just got a text from BIL saying Mum and baby were fine but tired.

Then we got a text this morning saying that baby has been taken to a nearby NICU after complications, which we have now found out from MIL were the cord around his neck and baby being twisted the wrong way in her pelvis as he came out.

Our twin girls died 2 1/2 months ago, one havingbeen in NICU for 9 days, so obviously we are all more worried than someone might otherwise be in this situation.

What complications usually occur after the cord is around the neck? I know it is often not serious, but if baby is in NICU, I assume there are complications. Are disabilities likely, are things likely to be life threatening?

I know we just have to wait and see, but we don't want to harrass BIL and SIL with texts/calls and are out of our mind with worry, so I wonderd if anyone had any experience of this?

Thanks.

My husband hasjust got a text to say brain scans are looking OK, but baby is still showing signs of convulsions. That's all we know as BIL isn't able to speak right now. I am hoping baby is OK.

Two of my three were born with the cords wrapped around their nechs.

DS2's was just wrapped around once, but they did have to speed my delivery up to get him out as his heart rate was dropping every time I had a contraction. He was fine at birth, but they do think the fits he has from time to time could have been caused by it. He is now 6.

DD had to be delivered by c-section as she was a transverse lie due to being tangled up in her cord. It was wrapped 3 times around her neck and tied in a true knot. When she was born she was blue and wasn't breathing, she had to be recussitated and taken to SCBU. She was fine after a day or two though and doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects. She is now 4.

Also meant to say really sorry about your daughters.

So sorry about your daughters Midori..

It will really depend on what happens over the next few hrs I guess. My DD was starved of oxygen and had seizures shortly after birth - she has some physical difficulties but nothing compared to what we were told to expect initially.

My Dad was also born with the cord around his neck - he had no long term problems.

It is very common but obviously some cases are much worse than others. My DS2 was born with the cord around his neck. It was a very quick birth anyway and his heartbeat was not listened to until very late first stage (but thats another issue) but when it was listened to they told me I had to push him out ASAP. It made for a horrible birth but he was fine.

I am really very sorry for your loss.

Firstly im am very sorry about your Daughters Midori.

In regards to knots, my experience is limited but DS2 was born 3 weeks premature with the cord wrapped round his Kneck 3 times with a true know and 4 knots down the cord as he had a very abnormaly long cord.

He was born with low apgar scores and was really blue/black and lifless when he was born, he was whisked to SCBU but was released the next day after dome oxygen.

He is a healthy 3 yr old now.

They took his cord (on my permission) to a research facility as it was very abnormal apparently.

I really hope your nephew is ok.

yes sorry about your babies,
from my experience with my son ,he didnt show any signs until later,as his effected part was the language,people skills part.so to try and answer your question id say
its going to depend on how long he was without oxygen and what part of his brain has been effected..by the way as for outcome hes now 11 and has managed to play catch up ,hes not autistic but has a lot of autistic tendencies(excuse spelling)and dare i say it ...passing all my/specialists expectations .ps crossing my fingers for you all X

Thankyou all.

We still aren't sure what is happening exactly, as haven't spoken to BIL, only had updates via PIL, who don't really seem to have a clue, tbh.

However, it does seem that baby is responding to medication, although we aren't sure what the meds were for. Also, apparently he has lots of stitches in his head as they had to use a ventouse to deliver him. I am especially shocked by this, as I wasn't aware a ventouse could cause such damage. MIL seems to think baby was too big for SIL to deliver, which seems improbable to me, as baby wasn't huge at 7lbs. Hopefully that's not the case, as it wouldn't bode well for future pregnancies/deliveries.

I think we'll have to wait to speak to BIL to really know what is going on.

midori, so sorry about your babies.

My friend's baby didn't breathe for 15 minutes after birth, so very scary oxygen deprivation. In NICU, they at first weren't sure she would survive, then what the level of disability would be, but were saying to prepare for the worst. She (the baby) was fitting lots.

She's only 15 months now, so can't assess how she will be in the long term, but she is mobile, eating well and developing just fine. No-one can predict how your SIL's child will be, but I wanted you to know there can be positive outcomes even from the scariest beginnings.

midori I followed your story, I hope you are getting some support for you and your family, and that one day you will be able to look at the memories you have of your beautiful little girls and send them a little smile.

Just for future reference if your sil birthed this baby then she is obviously perfectly capable.

As others have said, oxygen depravation is the most likely scenario, with very differing complications, some not showing until much later. If his brain scans look ok and he seems to be doing well on the meds then hopefully he will make a full recovery.

I wish them all the best. x

the meds are likely to be anti-sz stuff, which one the szs have stopped, they will try and reduce to see if they come back.

dd2 was born with the cord around her neck and also shoulder dystocia and was deprived of oxygen. she made no attempt to breathe and her hr was 28bpm when she was born - no-one knows how long it had been that low. she was ventilated etc.

the level of damage depends on the severity of the hypoxia, but most babies recover easily from brief hypoxic periods.

in dd2's case she spent 5 weeks in scbu but they got her szs under control within a few days, and she was off the meds within a couple of weeks with no szs since. (phenobarbitone is usually the drug of choice - or it was...) she was oxygen dependent for the first few weeks though. an mri on day 12 saw soft signs of hypoxia, (so inconclusive for outcome) but a later mri at 4yo shows the damage much more clearly.

despite this, she is a bright, happy, nearly 7yo with an iq of 142. we were told (later) that she was unlikely to talk or walk (she was discharged from the hospital with weekly physio and some other therapies) but she does both, and attends mainstream school. her official dx is cerebral palsy, but like most other things, there is a huge spectrum of ability with cp. every child with cp is affected differently tbh. google will only give you the worst possible picture - dd2 would give you the best

midori, i'm so sorry about your daughters - this must make you feel your loss even more keenly.

sending your nephew healthy anti-sz vibes, and strength for your extended family at this time xx

there are lots of folk on the sn board who can offer support if it does look likely there will be lasting issues - hopefully he will pick up and you won't need us x

Thankyou all. DH spoke to BIL last night, and although he didn't seem entirely clear as to what was going on, it seems that baby is well although still on meds and taking feeds well etc. He isn't on oxygen and has never been apparently, and they don't think there should be any long term implications.

S and BIL are in Spain, so not sure if they handle things differently over there? They are only allowed to visit the NICU for 30 mins twice daily, which must be awful for them.

nickoftime, I do occasionally pop onto the SN boards, as DS3 has Downs Syndrome, so I am aware of it and will bear it in mind. Thankyou.

I have to admit, it is hard not to have mixed feelings about all this. I feel dreadfully sorry for BIL and SIL and realise that this must have been horrendous for them, and DH and I have been worried too. But now it seems all will be fine, it's hard not to think of them as lucky and I feel awful for thinking that. I suppose the way I am feeling is pretty normal for such early stages of grief though.

midori - glad to hear things are looking more positive. Must be very difficult esp being abroad - is hard enough knowing what is going on and getting info from hospital staff here!

I totally acknowlege what you are saying about having mixed feelings - must be so hard for you with such raw emotions.