Why do some pregnant women have short umbilical cords?

Everyone knows that the nutrition and air for the fetus in the mother's belly are provided by the mother, and the connecting channel that provides nutrition and air for the baby is the umbilical cord. It can be seen that the umbilical cord is very important to the baby's physical health. If the umbilical cord develops abnormally, it will affect the pregnant woman's delivery and the baby's development. The situation of the umbilical cord being too short happens from time to time in life, so why do some pregnant women have a short umbilical cord?

Why do some pregnant women have short umbilical cords?

During pregnancy, the umbilical cord of the fetus is too long or too short, which is congenital and not caused by some reason. However, some people say that the main reason for a short umbilical cord is the unsatisfactory early embryonic development, which is related to the pregnant woman's history of gynecological inflammation. However, this cannot be used as an indicator of fetal abnormality.

What are the effects of a short umbilical cord on a fetus?

The normal length of the umbilical cord should be between 30-70 cm, and the umbilical cord of a full-term fetus is 40-60 cm long. If the umbilical cord is less than 30 cm long, it means that the fetal umbilical cord is too short, which may cause the following effects:

1. If the umbilical cord is too short, the fetus may descend during delivery, causing the umbilical cord to become thinner or even broken, resulting in fetal intrauterine hypoxia, umbilical hernia, or obstruction of the fetal descent, resulting in complications such as delayed labor, placental abruption, and uterine extrusion, which may endanger the life of the fetus.

2. If the umbilical cord is too short, pulling it may cause internal bleeding of the umbilical cord or uterine eversion after delivery, causing heavy bleeding in the mother.

What to do if the fetus's umbilical cord is too short

It is almost impossible to see if the fetal umbilical cord is too short before delivery, so there is a saying that "there are often no clinical signs before delivery". Therefore, it is usually recommended that pregnant women have regular prenatal check-ups to observe the growth of the umbilical cord.

However, there is a special situation, that is, the umbilical cord is really short. When the fetus moves, the expectant mother's belly button may be pulled and her stomach may hurt. At this time, she should seek medical attention and deal with it in time to avoid accidents.