Single Umbilical Artery

[Mimile]

My DD was born 10 months ago, and we have started thinking about TTC.
My last pregnancy went very well, nothing major, but ended up very overdue and had failed induction at 42+1 - the process was a little stressful, and since I am the only one in my group of friend to have been through failed induction + section, I have never really spoken about the experience with anyone (most of people I know discount C-section childbirth as real birthing experience; while people's opinion do not bother me too much, it kind of stops me from 'sharing')
Anyhow - got induction, it failed, saw 4 registars, with conflicting opinions on section, from one telling me to wait for natural labour to the other telling me I was putting my baby at risk. The last one I saw after the 3rd pessary failed convinced me to opt for section. I asked her to write it down, as well as to pass the info to consultant, as I didn't want to be messed around the following morning. Morning came, along with consultant, who was adamant I should go home and wait. Got him to get his students out, asked to be examined, and stood my ground for a section (originally v. far from anything in my birthplan, but by that point I was paranoid about baby not being safe anymore, cervix totally closed despite 2 days of inefficient contractions).
DD was born at mid-day that day, looking healthy and gorgeous. When we got back to the ward, the pediatrician came to tell us that DD had (not previously diagnosed) single umbilical artery, telling us that it is sometime linked to a raft of chromosomal anomalies + organ defects. Cue to scans and test, which revealed nothing.
I have buried all this deed inside for these months, and only looked at it yesterday - studies in the US show quite high perinatal risk for these babies, inc. stillbirth.
Anyone else has experience of this? If nothing was diagnosed at birth, can defects become apparent later on?
My other concern is that I never had a debrief of DD's birth, either for C-section, or SUA, with HV, GP or consultant. Is it normal? I have ambivalent thoughts about VBAC or going through section again next time - I am still not sure why my DD never engaged, whether it would happen again, whether SUA would happen again...
Anyhow - would be very glad to hear from anyone with similar experience!

Hi, not had the same experiences as you but did have a shocking time after the birth with enormous blood loss etc. There are other threads on here regarding debrief and if you want one, go to your GP and request it. I had one at 6 weeks after the birth as part of a checkup with the consultant. It did help a bit but as the consultant was running late and I had a hungry baby to contend with I will be asking for another one if I get pregnant again. You can also request a copy of your notes via freedom of information or arrange a time to go to the hospital and read them. I think this is via the Health Authority for your area but not done it yet so hopefully someone else can help.

Good luck

This is long:

What is Single Umbilical Artery?

Normally, when the umbilical cord develops, it forms three vessels: two arteries and one vein. However, in some cases, just one artery develops. Precisely why this occurs is not entirely known. It is suspected, though, that one artery may simply stop growing as it develops or perhaps that the primordial umbilical artery does not divide properly.

How Common is SUA?

This malformation of the umbilical cord has been found to affect between 0.5% and 7% of pregnancies and 1 in 100 live births. Caucasian women are twice as likely to experience this complication compared to Japanese and Black women. Additionally, women having a multiple pregnancy are three to four times as likely to develop SUA. Other factors that may increase your risk:

Advanced maternal age (over 40)
Having 3 or more previous children
Diabetes
Female fetal sex

Although SUA can affect either artery, the left artery tends to be absent slightly more often than the right.

How Will I Know if I have SUA?

Although some babies may not be diagnosed until birth, most times, the problem can be diagnosed through an ultrasound scan. During an ultrasound, an SUA diagnosis will be made if the technician notices that one artery is abnormally large and that only two vessels are visible instead of three. Alternatively, a colour doppler ultrasound may also be done. In this instance, the colour doppler will be used to visualize the arteries. If you have single umbilical artery, then only one vessel will be seen on the screen on either side of your baby�s bladder.

SUA has Been Found; Will My Baby be Born Healthy?

Anywhere from half to two-thirds of babies born with single artery umbilical cord are born healthy and with no chromosomal or congenital abnormalities. Of the remaining babies with SUA, some studies suggest that about 25 percent have birth defects, including chromosomal and/or other abnormalities. These can include trisomy 13 or trisomy 18. However, the most common pregnancy complications that occur in infants with SUA are heart defects, gastrointestinal tract abnormalities and problems with the central nervous system. The respiratory system, urinary tract, and musculoskeletal system may also be affected. One in five babies affected by SUA will be born with multiple malformations.
Aside from these problems, between 15% and 20% of infants with SUA may suffer from intrauterine growth retardation. Single umbilical artery also has an increased miscarriage rate of 22% associated with it, likely due to the increased abnormalities. Furthermore, there is an association between SUA and low birthweight (

My ds2 had a single umbilical artery which was also not picked up til after he was born. The hospital didn't make a big thing about it and were telling us it was quite common and it may cause kidney problems and he would need a kidney scan at 6 week old (which was all fine). The other thing is he was also born with a finger missing on his left hand (pic in my profile if you're curious) which again the hospital said there was no reason for and 'it's just one of those things.'

When i googled the problem i read that it can cause birth defects, and to me a missing finger is a birth defect, so i still think it was the cord thing that caused it. He was 1 year old last week and I still think about how the hospital missed the single artey cord and missing finger on any scans and how they sort of brushed off the cord thing as not a big issue when it really could have been.

Phoenix, I suspect they brushed it off because the only thing wrong was a finger missing. So much other stuff could have gone wrong. Although it's your little boy so of course it doesn't matter what didn't happen, only what did.
You are right, I think, (not being an expert though)the finger was probably part of the "musculoskeletal abnormality". However, it's difficult to pick some stuff up from ultrasound, which is why the single artery probably got missed.

Your children are absolutely beautiful by the way.

Thank you

I know nothing could have been done if they'd picked it up in a scan anyway and it would have also given me something else to worry about so it was probably a good thing in a way. I thought fingers and toes were counted in the 20 week scan but ds2's can't have been. And again i know there would have been nothing we could have done but if we had known but at least we could have been a bit prepared for it iykwim.

My first DS had a SUA. We found out very early on at 12 weeks - but mostly that was because they were concerned about fluid levels and bad blood test results (all indicative of chromosomal problems). CVS was clear but a very anxious 6 months later DS was born healthy (albeit by sort of emergency C section due to very low fluid and poor growth). He did have a scan for a hairy patch at the base of his spine - but all fine, no problems. I wonder if the SUA was involved with the dimple formation - but who knows. I worried that 2nd baby would have something similar - but all vessels present and correct!!! Hurrah! I think if you've had the all clear you're all clear. They'd have checked your baby for issues. SUA's are actually pretty common and are nowadays considered just a variant of normal (think mine was more of a problematic one - but where its not been associated with any issues during pg or after its possibly just a variant of normal). Takes a while after a traumatic experience like yours (and mine worrying about my DS for so long) for it really to sink in that its all OK now. Mind you still feel a little like that now and my DS is 5yo! Sorry your birth was so horrendous....I know what you mean about not swapping C-section stories with other new mums. Feels odd doesn't it?! But a C-section is no walk in the park either - plus you have the worse of both worlds long labour and then C-section!

Thank you all for your replies - i don't come here near as often as I did when I was on mat leave...
I am somehow glad the SUA was not diagnosed until birth, otherwise I would have panicked for months. Zam72 - interesting about the dimple. DD has a funny dimple at the very base of her spine, near the tailbone. Dimple is quite deep, and I remember being a little spooked by it at first, panicking it was a SUA-associated malformation.

I will ask for my notes, not sure how much there will be in there that will answer my questions / concern. What happened when DD was born is all a bit hazy - I cannot quite remember the details, which is a shame. But I'd be freaking out if it was happening here and now - somehow back then, everything just rolled on. Weird.