A little history from me first:
my son (now almost 4 mos. old) was born with a 2-vessel chord and it was not known until birth (well, more acurately, until after testing the umbilical cord).
Some things for you to consider?
How did they find out about the single artery in the first place? From what we were told, it is difficult to tell unless it is examined first hand (aka after birth or by a tissue sample (which I am sure has not been done) or there are signs (ie very little amnio fluid, flow of fluids through the cord show up on sono, etc). Is your amnio fluid level fine? Ask them how they came to this diagnosis? Maybe because they are only seeing fluids going one direction on the sonogram, but that can be misleading! How did they come up with your diagnosis and can they double-check the findings?
How are they sure it is only a single vessel unstead of a double vessel (instead of the normal three?)?
Ask very detailed questions and demand very detailed answers and don't give up until you are satisfied with the answers. You deserve to know what is going on and what to expect and your doctor has had ample time to do further research if he/she needed to brush up on the subject. If problems arise here, maybe ask for a referrel from him/her to see a high-risk OB, even if for just a single appt to ease your fears.
I know your case is a little more of concern than ours, but I will fill you in (below) on what they did for me/my son upon finding his 2-vessel cord so you can expect at least what we had to do if not more upon the arrival of your bundle. JUST REMEMBER THAT THIS IS FOR A 2-VESSEL CORD AND NOT A SINGLE, SO YOUR SITUATION WILL PROB BE QUITE A BIT MORE MONITORED AND TEST-DEMANDING!
My son was born (by induction due to my high blood pressure) at 39 weeks and had really fine, if not great, initial birth test results. We had no signs or knowledge of a 2-cord vessel until birth and my preg was pretty normal (except for last-minute blood pressure probs.).
Apparently the OB always checks the cord at any birth (which I had never thought about up to this point) and my/his cord showed some abnormality when she checked it, but it wasn't obvious (it seemed to have possibly merged from a possible 3-cord to a 2-cord), so she sent it off to be tested (which they would have to do even if it was obvious for better information on how severe the abnormaility was). Here, they disect it into sections and scrutinize it under miroscope. My OB and my son's pediatician are husband and wife (nice in this scenario) and were in contact about it from the start (obviosly).
My OB did say that it is not a DEFECT and is not something that will most-likely ever appear/cause probs in future pregnancies for me (it is not a genetic thing)or future babies.
Once the tests confirmed 2-cord, the pedi (dr.) came back and explained all this to us: (Here goes, kind of wordy, but maybe it will help you!)
It can cause, but not typically, birth defects of the organs because what the umbilical cord does is "fuel" nutrients for the organ development and take away solid waste (liquid waste is despelled in the urine of the fetus which makes up your amnio fluid). If the cord is not working well (due to space/"traffic jam" from less vessels than usual or other probs), the organs may not develop correctly.
The pedi was not worried about heart and lungs b/c all newborn babies lungs and hearts are checked/screened at birth anyway and my son's came out totally normal and his color was fine (enough oxygen). Neither was he worried about his kidneys b/c I had enough amnio fluid (your OB will pick up on if there is too small a level of fluid when he/she does sonos and that is why you need to ask about your fluid levels), therefore he was urinating in utero, and he was urinating just fine after birth and out the normal "hole" (no odd hold opeining in the wrong spot). Furthermore, he was not and never became jaundice.
SO, that basicly left the other organs to check and to just slightly "double-check" the above organs again for confirmation.
We got out of the hospital (after birth) right on time but had to go to Presbyterian Hosp. for further blood tests and an abdominal sonogram (to check his organs, esp kidney, liver, stomach, etc) to make sure they were in the right place (apparently that is a small concern from 2-cord), the right size, and looked healthy. All there was fine.
Then they sent us for several chest X-Rays to double-check his heart and lungs (and that was fine too).
Once all that was done and checked out, he was cleared.
He is healthy and fine and even big on both weight and height for his age and developing early (he got his first tooth at 3 mos.)!
So, if I were in your shoes, again, I would ask how they came up with your diagnosis, what the risks involved are with that diagnosis, and what you can expect. Any question you have that you asked or hoped to find the answer to on-line, you should ask your dr. and expect an answer to your liking and if you don't get it, get a second opinion! You deserve to know what is going on with your body and with your child and what to expect.
I was lucky! My drs. were great and very informative. And they had never really run across this in clinical study before, so it was new to them in reality even thought they studied it in school, and that didn't keep them from keeping us (hubby and I) totally informed!
Demand Care! You deserve it!
Hope I helped!
Let me know how it turns out! I would love to know what you find out!
T.
