Five-vessel umbilical cord and fetal outcome: an obstetric overview

The birth of a child with an increased number of blood vessels in the umbilical cord (UC) is a rare event and has been previously reported to be associated with a higher incidence of congenital anomalies.

A case of a healthy female infant with an intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR), born from a bicornuate uterus at 37 weeks of gestation and weighing 2500 g with a diagnosis of five-vessel UC made post-natally, on gross examination of the UC and confirmed by histopathological examination is documented. In particular, sections from the UC showed four umbilical arteries (UA) and one umbilical vein (UV). A review of literature was performed.

The physical examination of the baby after birth was normal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case to document the association of five-vessel UC with IUGR and the Mullerian anomaly of bicornuate uterus.

The detection of supernumerary blood vessels in the UC mandates comprehensive workup for associated congenital anomalies but this case suggests that such finding might not always serve as an ominous sign for an adverse perinatal outcome.