2 Vessel Umbilical Cord?

My youngest was a 2 vessel umbilical cord, and it was also record length.... it was almost 50'' long! He was born 1wk late, 9lbs and 23'' long, and was perfectly healthy from head to toe.

you will probably have a couple extra ultrasounds, but I believe this is a pretty common thing.

Hi, B.!

Congrats on your pregnancy! I have a son who also had a 2-vessel cord and I found out about it at my routine 20-week ultrasound. My doctor explained to me that the main risk associated with this is having a small-birth-weight baby because instead of having two "lines" in for nutrients and one line out, they only have one of each. Because of this small risk, he made sure to measure me carefully each time and when I measured under one day, I was promptly ushered over to an ultrasound and it turned out that everything was fine. They are looking to make sure that the baby has enough "output" (so measuring your amniotic fluid) to make sure that the baby's kidneys are functioning well.

There is also a tiny, tiny chance of having a baby born with cleft lip or cleft pallet. Both of these require surgery when the child is old enough, but it's something that they fix and then you move on and your child never even remembers that they were born with it. I was adamant about breastfeeding and my doctor said I should still be able to even if one of these happened.

My son was born a week late and weighed 8 pounds. He had his kidney's checked right away (routine with 2-vessel cord babies) and they were fine. He did not have cleft lip or pallet and is perfectly normal from head to toe.

I have since known two other mommies with this same issue in their pregnancy and both of those babies have been born at a healthy weight near their due dates with no issues.

I hope this helps you sort through some of the "muck" you can find on the internet! Good luck!

We had a 2 Vessel cord with our daughter who is now 3 1/2. She was a full term baby and small 6 lb. but she's a small 3 yo and that has nothing to do with her 2 vc. Molly had a lot of ultrasounds to follow up during the pregnancy and she does not have any issues!! I heard that it happens in about 10 % of pregnancies, but most people aren't aware if it. Keep in contact w/ your doctor and stop researching it. Made me crazy!!

J.

I had the same thing when I was pregnant with my daughter. They basically said they just have to make sure the baby is developing the way he/she should each month. With 2 vessels they are not getting as much nutrients and such as they would with 3. So I had more ultrasounds than I guess you normally would. They also will keep a close eye on the baby's heartbeat during labor, although I'm sure they do no matter what. This is more common then you'd think. I believe the radiologist from Mayo told me he sees at least 1 woman every week for the same thing. Just make sure you eat enough and healthy and everything will be just fine. Hope that helps. Take care.

Our pastors just had a new grandson who only had 2 vessels in his ambilical cord. I had never heard of that before. He was fine. His glucose wouldn't come up after birth but that happened with mine and he didn't have that. Just stop looking online and talk to your doctor!

My oldest son (now 13) was also born with a 2 vessel cord. He was born 3 days after his due date and was 8lbs 3oz 21" long. Completely normal in every way. The biggest thing is that you will probably have a few more ultrasounds just to verify that the baby is growing properly, and they will be very thorough in checking out the kidneys. Don't stress out, and take everything in stride.....Good luck!!!

One of my twins had a 2 vessel cord, which was discovered at the 2nd or 3rd ultrasound I had (that would've been 23 or 26 wks). Because they were twins, they kept close watch to be sure the weight difference between them didn't get too extreme. However, everything turned out great. We induced at 36 wks (because I was so uncomfortable - I felt a little guilty about "wimping out"), and my "little" girl (the one with the 2vc) was 6lb, 2oz; her sister was 8lb, 2oz(!) - that's when I stopped feeling guilty. :) From everything I've seen, a 2vc is pretty common, and as long as the doctors can keep a close watch in case of rare complications (as mentioned by others), you should have nothing to worry about. Good luck!

My granddaughter only had 2 vessels instead of 3 as well. She was born prematurely (about 6 weeks) but is a healthy happy 8 month old right now.

The docs said the missing vessel was NOT the reason for the premature birth.

So everything turned out okay for my daughter. Hope all goes well for you, just keep healthy and don't let it stress you out too much. Too much stress is worse than just about anything else during pregnancy.

L.

do not woorry a ton - I had the same thing - you will have more tests and might have weekly BBP and NST tests (I did) they will ljust watch to see that your baby is growing normally and everything is aok! they told me that normally something else can be wrong as well (my son had only 1 kidney - but is doing great! 7 mo old) if you want to talk or hear more email me your contact info. ____@____.com

good luck

I'm at 32 weeks with a baby that has a 2-vessel cord. My dr. and the perinatologist assured me that having a 2-vessel cord does not usually CAUSE problems (other than the occasional smaller-than-normal baby), and that most of the pregnancies end with a normal, on-time delivery.
SOMETIMES, it is an indicator that something else is wrong, but the ultrasounds you've already had probably would have tipped the dr. off if that was the case.
I am currently struggling with low amniotic fluid, which will more than likely result in early delivery. The dr. said that there is a SLIGHT possibility that it is due to the baby only having a single umbilical artery, but they don't know for sure and the fluid level did go up between my last 2 appointments.
I go in for weekly ultrasounds to monitor the baby and have frequent bio-physical profiles and growth scans done to make sure my little guy is OK, and so far he is healthy, strong, active, and his growth is right on schedule.
Honestly, I'm not worried about it. Two-vessel-cords are more common than I thought and, like I said, usually end in a normal delivery. Good luck!!!

my sister's baby was also 2-vessel, so she was born via c-section 6 weeks before her due date as a precaution. she was 5lb 3 oz, perfectly healthy, and now a thriving 4 year old.

it seems that the 2-vessel discovery sets the doctors into a precautionary path, so just take it in stride try to relax. good luck and congratulations!

one of my good friends has a very healthy beautiful baby boy from a 2 vessel umbilical cord. Just thought I would let you know. Good luck!

My baby had a two vessel chord discovered at 30 weeks,the pedatrician did a renal ultrasound,it was just a fluke she is totally healthy.

Hi B.
I have a two vessel umbilical cord as well. I am due in 8 weeks, so I have been through all the fun testing and stuff. This is what my doctor told me.
First, as you know, they will do a level 2 ultrasound to make sure there are no birth defects. Then, if there aren't any, there really isn't much to worry about. The main "risk" is that there is something called Intrauterine Growth Retardation (IGR) which can occur in the third trimester. All that means is that the baby may not grow as big as they would like. You will be closely monitored. I have to have an ultrasound every couple weeks to make sure that the baby is growing. If they thought that she was in danger they would talk about taking her early. So far though nothing concerning has come up, and I hope the same goes for you. (Just remember, stay off the internet! ;) I have to admit I looked on the internet when I found out too and that was a bad idea all around.) This is my second pregnancy as well and I can tell you this child has had no growth issues whatsoever. I feel like I am carrying a hippo! I hope this makes you feel a little better, and if you want to talk you can always shoot me a message. I know it made me feel better to talk to someone who has been there.
Good luck to you!

Hi B.,

It looks like you have received plenty of reassuring responses but I thought I would throw my two cents in. I could have written your request 2 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. My OB seemed very unconcerned about the whole thing and would not have scheduled me for a level 2 ultrasound but I insisted on one. I, too, read all about it on the internet and that was the worst thing I could have done. I did have to have NST's done every week toward the end of the pregnancy but other than that, nothing special was done. My daughter was born perfectly healthy and at a great weight of 7 lb 2 oz so it did not affect her in the least. I know it can be so scary when you hear that anything is out of the ordinary but I think that 2 vessel cords are much more common than we think and I get the impression that they are rarely cause for concern. Good luck to you...I'm sure you will have a wonderful pregnancy with a very healthy baby at the end.

I had a SVU with my first and was watched closer during the pregnancy (ultrasounds every 3 weeks and NST tests).
She was induced at 36 weeks because she did not grow much between ultrasounds, if I remember correctly they said my placenta matured. She was small 5lbs 3oz. but is healthy and is now 6. Try not to worry- you'll just have a few more appointments and you'll get to see your little one more often :)

Hello All, I realize these responses(that I read) to B's concern about her child w/2 vc, were in 2009/2010 I have just found out that my 2nd grandchild, a boy,but w/the current situation. After prayer and to educate myself, I came to this site.....which is truly wonderful to know that all these children(read thus far) had no serious complications. AND I choose to think from a positive aspect, there is good in all,no matter what the outcome may be. Thanks to all and pray that your children now and future(if u so choose) will continue to live productive lives.

Stella, if you hap to revisit this site again, and whoever else this may apply to, my current prayer is that you have found peace/comfort. You are right, nothing prepares us for the demise of our children.

Grandma T

A friend of mine had a baby with 2 vessels in the umbical cord. They read/heard some scary stats and worried a lot. He was fine at birth and has been advanced ever since he was very young. Good luck!

I had the same thing happen with my 3rd child. It was a very scary time to say the least. I too read all the terrible things that could happen online. Try not to and relax. Your doctor will monitor you and you will probably see a specialist. With no other "soft marks" I think that was the term, you'll probably go on to have a very healthy baby. I had 2 ultrasounds and at the 2nd they said the baby only had a 2 vessel cord but originally 3 vessels the month earlier. I saw a specialist for probably 3 other ultrasounds (loved the extra pictures, especially the 3/4D ones). I was also 35 years old & had 1 other thing they were watching with the baby's kidney. I love technology, but then hate it for all the extra worry. As your pregnancy progresses I'm sure the baby will continue to be active and grow. I went on to deliver a full term 9.5lb boy!! So, no shortness on nutrition there. Good luck to you!

I don't mean to scare anyone or get anyone worried, but I had my 1st pregnancy 2 vessel cord, and my baby died at 23 weeks, I had to deliver her already knowing she was gone. I am really angry because at 20 weeks when I learned the gender of the baby and that I had 2 vessels instead of 3, the doctor told me "99% that it will not even effect the baby". I went on not worring about it at all since looked like the baby was doing good from what he can see. They were going to do extra monitoring but assured me there was no reason to worry. Only 3 weeks later to come in for my regular check up and the doctor could not find the baby's heart beat, ultrasound showed there was no heartbeat and no movement. Also, my umbilical cord had strictures in it, they know its from veins tightening, but they don't know what was causing veins to tighten and form strictures. I am angry that the doctor never told me of any risks associated to having 2 vein umbilical cord because now that I started to do reaearch I learned from couple articles that when you have a 2 vessel umbilical cord, often there are other umbilical cord problems (and I did have the strictures) and most of such pregnancies end in fetal death between weeks 20-24 (I lost her at 23 weeks). But then I read all the comments above and seems like for most people it does work out okay, and their babies are healthy, which I am only glad for you and your babies, but like I said not to worry anyone, but so that you are aware of all the posibilieties, I know now I would have wanted to know all the risks, eventhough nothing would have prepared me for loosing my daughter...

B., This happened to me with our 2nd little boy. They were concerned about the possibility of low growth, but he was 9lbs and 11oz when he was born. I hope its the same for you, but I had no problems with the 2 vessel cord. Best wishes!
J.