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What are common umbilical cord issues during birth?

On Behalf of | Jun 14, 2021 | Birth Injuries

Feet of a newborn baby in the hands of parents. Happy Family oncept. Mum and Dad hug their baby’s legs.

If you’re an expectant parent in Texas, it’s understandable to feel a little nervous about the birthing process. In most cases, giving birth proceeds relatively smoothly. With that said, as you give birth, your newborn may end up getting the umbilical cord wrapped around his or her neck. Here’s more information about several umbilical cord-related issues.

What happens next when a cord is wrapped around a newborn’s neck?

Fortunately, this situation isn’t as dangerous as it sounds. Since a substance called Wharton’s jelly coats the umbilical cord, it’s hard for a baby to compress or damage the cord’s veins.

When the umbilical cord is wrapped around a baby’s neck, in most cases, the person delivering the newborn can easily remove it from this area of the body. There’s also the possibility that a cord gets wrapped around the neck multiple times, which could take a little longer to resolve.

Other types of cord-related birthing issues

While less common, there are other umbilical cord-related birthing problems. This can happen due to either cord compression or cord prolapse.

Cord compression occurs when the umbilical cord presses itself between an infant and the mother’s pelvis. If the baby presses hard enough against the pelvis, he or she can cause disruption. In some cases, this situation is fixed by having a mother roll over to her other side.

A cord prolapse is when the umbilical cord enters the birth canal with the baby behind it. Due to the severity of this situation, these situations often end in medical malpractice claims. With a careful hand, this situation is also resolvable.

As you can see, the umbilical cord can several types of problems during the birthing process. With a skilled birthing specialist on hand, most issues related to your newborn and the umbilical cord should be fairly easy to resolve.

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