Umbilical cord length in singleton gestations: a Finnish population-based retrospective register study

Area of Science:

• Perinatal Medicine
• Reproductive Biology
• Obstetrics

Background:

• Umbilical cord length is linked to various pregnancy and delivery complications.
• Understanding normal and abnormal cord length variations is crucial for clinical practice.
• Factors influencing umbilical cord growth and development require further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish updated reference charts for umbilical cord length in singleton pregnancies.
• To investigate potential maternal, fetal, and gestational factors influencing cord length.

Main Methods:

• Prospective collection of birth register data from 47,284 singleton pregnancies.
• Generation of gender-specific centile charts using Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape (GAMLSS).
• Analysis of factors affecting cord length via univariate and stepwise multiple linear regression.

Main Results:

• Cord length demonstrated a positive correlation with gestational age, decelerating post-term.
• Significant associations found between cord length and birth weight, placental weight, maternal BMI, parity, and maternal age.
• Gestational diabetes and prior miscarriages correlated with longer cords; female gender and placental abruption with shorter cords.

Conclusions:

• Female infants generally have shorter umbilical cords, with considerable inter-individual variation.
• Umbilical cord length is significantly associated with birth weight, placental weight, and gestational age.
• A significant finding of shorter cords in placental abruption warrants further investigation.