I was in your same boat about this time last year. I found out when I was 19 weeks along with baby #2 that he only had a single vessel cord and all the health problems that can be associated with this. My dr told me stay away from the internet(too late, I know. I did the same thing) because it will just scare me more and the main concern is heart and kidney issues. We had a level 2 ultrasound and a fetal ecco done and each turned out perfect. I don't do the genetic marker tests, mostly because it doesn't matter to me since it wouldn't changed my mind about having the baby and just cause to worry more about him and stress isn't good during pregnancy. My group, I see Doylestown Women's health center, acted like this was no big deal, they see this all the time and if there was another problem, it would have shown up already on the normal 20 week ultrasound but they need to cover all their bases. I went for monthly growth scans since babies with this tend to be smaller (I'll get to soon) and at 32 weeks, I went 2 times a week for fetal non stress tests when they put sensors on your belly and monitor the baby's heart beat for 20 minutes. They are looking for 2 good movements from the baby to make sure the baby's heart raises and then lowers again. If the baby is under any stress, the heart beat will stay elevated. Sounds scarier than what it is. Each time he passed. The nurses told me they rarely rarely rarely see any problems, they just need to cover all their bases. * I was told that a lot*. If they see a problem, they would do an ultrasound. My drs told me the biggest concern is during labor with an increased chance of c section if the baby lays on the cord so I would be monitored the entire time. The whole pregnancy I continued to pray to God that everything would be okay. My son was born 2 weeks early, naturally with no drugs (I was trying my hardest not to have a c-section) perfectly healthy, but small. He was 5 lbs 3 oz at birth but perfect. His dr kept reassuring me he was healthy and they couldn't find any problems with him. He'll be 6 mths next week and besides being a light weight, he's caught up in length. He is hitting every milestone on time. And he's healthy and happy and that the most importnant to me. The best advice I can give you is contact me if you have any questions and join this board at baby center. com.
http://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1637&nav=messages&webtag=bcus1703&tid=10
There are loads of other moms out there with this. And everyone keeps everyone up to date on whats going on at their dr appointments. And if you're unhappy with your dr's reaction, call around and find a new one. They can't keep you there. Also, I read this website while pregnant and it gave me loads of insight.
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/SUA.html
Congratulations and enjoy your pregnancy! Don't dwell on what you read online!
My beautiful 23 year old niece had one umbilical artery and is perfectly normal, very bright, and has no health issues whatsoever! The internet is such a great source of information, but sometimes it's just not necessary. Keep it in the back of your mind, but don't dwell on it and don't read everything you can find about it. Instead, read parenting books and reduce stress as much as you can! Good luck and take care, Sally
I Carole, and congrats on your first baby...First besides the one artery, did they do all the measurement, and look at the chambers of the heart? I'm a four year vetern NICU nurse now doing anesthesia..and I've seen perfectly healthy babies born with only one artery, so unless other tests are coming back abnormal...rest easy, and u should talk w/ your OB. if not happy, find a different OB..someone who will talk w/you, and explain everything.
Good luck.
One of my good friends had this same problem when she was pregnant. And everything went fine. The baby girl was born perfectly healthy weighing 5lbs 15oz. and was 20 inches long. So please don't believe everything you read. But listen to your body. I remember her going through a lot of stress tests especially at the end. And her pregnancy was normal.
i had the same problem but i did not find out about it until after i delivered my son. He had a low birth wieght of 5 lbs 5 oz (my doctor said that is normal) we had no complications or problems since. he is now a healthy active 5 yr old
Hi Carol-
I have a very healthy 2 1/2 year old girl, she had a SUA when I was pregnant with her. Everything turned out fine. I just had a lot of monitoring with my third trimester, Every week was an ultrasound, biophysical profiles and a fetal echo to track growth. She was born 6 pounds 8 oz and very healthy full term. Don't overworry by searching on the internet. It will all turn out normal. They are just very conservative and you are considered high risk at the third trimester. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss further. ([email protected])
My son is 25 months old and has no birth defects at all. He too had only one artery in his umbilical cord and I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy. Until you get an amnio that tells you so, don't read too much into it. You need to be positive and stay well for you and your baby. Hugs xoxox Liza
Hi Carole
I had the same problem with my second child. I too was very scared but if it makes it any easier on you My Child is Just fine he is now 8 years old. I was 23 years old when it happen to me but My doctors were very helpful. But I did do the testing that they wanted me to do but that was because mY hubby wanted me to have it done.
My dd was misdiagnosed with this. I did the research too and started freaking out. It doesn't help that they can't do anything or monitor it closer until later in the pregnancy. My Dr. was actually reassuring and said that she has delivered more then 95% healthy babies that are diagnosed with this condition. It's more rare to have a baby with complications then not. When they did the next sonogram they found out that the first sonogram was wrong and she had a normal cord. They have to give you all the information to prepare you, don't think about the "could happen".
Hi, I just gave birth to my son in August of 07. He had only one artery in his cord. They told me the most common problems with this were possible heart problems, possible underweight birth & possible early delivery. The heart problems they checked for with other US later in the pregnancy & every thing was fine. As for the weight...my son was 9lbs 3 oz at birth. They decided to induce me 3 days before my due date b/c he was so big & they were afraid he would only get bigger as we waited. The induction didn't work. He didn't want to leave! They wound up having to do a C-section.
So, I wound up having the opposite of all expected problems. He is now 7 months old...still bigger than most babies his age & totally healthy. He hasn't even had a cold yet. (Though now I've probably jinxed us. LOL!)
Try not to stress too much. Something my doctor told me...US have not been around for very long. It is likely that this condition is much more common than they currently believe. And most babies have NO ill effects from it.
CAROLE,
What a blessing to be having a child. My second pregnancy i was diagnosed with the same cord problem .Although very scary and at some of the ultrasounds they thought that she was not growing right I worried for nothing . I now have a beautiful intelligent 10 year old girl Olivia. Dont stress its worse for the baby , good luck!!
I have a baby who was born with SUA. I sobbed badly for not having identified it in the ultrasonography and so did my Gynac. I was being informed to have his entire body scanned to check if there were any blockages or malformations in Kidneys or heart, CNS and brain and thankfully nothing came out. So, we showed the repots to arount 3 diffrenet doctors who mentioned that now there is nothing to worry about if nothing came out in teh reports. Now my child is 1 yr old and there has been no problems since then. However, i found my baby to be mildly aneamic since the 6th month. I dont know if this should be associated with SUA. Well, i dont think so. MY baby has been on Iron supplement since then and has shown very less progress. But rest all is fine.
I just have a question if something might come up in future. I have no idea. However, as per the doctors if reports were fine after the birth then there should be nothing to worry about. Lets see.
I suggest even you could have the entire body scan done and then check the repots with mutiple doctorcs to check their opinion..
When I was born my mom was told that there was only one artery in the umbilical card and that I only had one kidney, an x-ray was done and revealed that I actually had two kidneys. My mom was told that I may have kidney issues and that I may become more at risk for infections later on in life. I am now 29 yrs old and I have been perfectly healthy aside from a few urinary tract infections which lots of people get. I don't think that people should research on the net because it is all so negative and scary. I just wanted to share with you that info.
I got blood drawn yesterday for a quad screen. I will let everyone know how it is going. Thank you so much for all of the information, support and kindness. It has made me feel SOOOOOO much better!
UPDATE: The quad screen came back showing no possibility (or signs) of Downs Syndrome. Yay! I am keeping my thoughts positive with the help of all of your feedback.