Double vessel cord - experience or info!

[Evie]

I am currently 24 weeks into my third pregnancy and at 18 weeks was diagnosed with the above quite rare condition. I have just one artery and vein in the umbilical cord as opposed to the usual two arteries. We have been told that in many cases there are no difficulties (possibly smaller baby coming early) but in some cases the baby may have a defect primarily of heart or kidney. We have had a detailed scan which proved to be reassuring but wondered if anyone else had come across this or experienced it?

I was diagnosed with a 2-vessel cord at about 18 weeks. At about 24 weeks, the follow-up scan revealed that it was a misdiagnosis... after the fetal echocardiogram, which was moderately reassuring.

All the doctors I dealt with said the same things, notably that it was rare but not very rare (my OB sees several every year) and that in most cases there are no problems (the perinatologist who did the initial diagnosis had seen problems, my OB said no case of his had ever actually had problems associated with the 2-vessel cord). As ultrasounds become more common, people have been adjusting down the risks -- it appears that a lot of 2-vessel cords with no associated problems were missed before.

I was encouraged to have diagnostic ultrasounds, since the heart and kidney defects are detectable pre-birth on ultrasound. However, the cardiologist who did the fetal echocardiogram actually said he wouldn't have bothered, given that I was planning to deliver in what happens to be the area's primary treatment facility for newborns. If I'd been planning a birth somewhere that didn't have pediatric cardiologists etc. on call, he thought it was worth knowing in advance so I could change plans if necessary, but otherwise he said the relevant defects weren't treatable or particularly dangerous until birth anyway.

I have seen many babies with 2 vessels in the cord after delivery and none have had any problems. Hope all is well with you.

It used to be thought that this was associated with an increased likeliehood of chromosomal abnormalities, but in the absence of any other worrying features on scan most places have stopped even mentioning this or carrying out any further tests. In other words it's not in itself considered an abnormality or to have any consequences for the baby.

Hi Evie, snap! same here, 3rd pg at the 20week scan, a lump was seen at the umbilical join on my sons belly, he was born 6 weeks early, at 3.38kg/7.7lbs, he was diagnosed with= an exomphalos/intestines outside the belly. Tetralogy of fallots/4 defects of the heart. Cranial 7th nerve palsy/face stroke. He is now fully repaired, and is a very hyperactive 18month old, that I would not change for the world. Try not to dwell too much on what you cannot change, and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy..... You know where I am if you need to ask questions.... Take care.

Thanks everyone for your messages of reassurance. I feel more relaxed about things now as there isn't much I can do in pregnancy to influence any possible outcome anyway. I was pleased to read the message from popstar as it was from the triple blood test that we had the scan which then diagnosed the double vessel cord. After the scan the risk for possible Downs Syndrome dropped into the same risk as most others my age (32yrs). We have a sizing scan in a couple of weeks which will give a better indication of how everything is going...however judging from bump size and fundal height measurement all seems on track. My previous babies were big (9lb 4oz and 10lb 10oz) so I'm hoping this one will be using those genes! Anyway thanks again for your responses and to survivour I'm really pleased to hear that your little one is doing so well after what must have been a difficult start. So often ante-natal tests give more questions than they do answers and you only hear negative...a lovely positive message!