Umbilical cord length and intrapartum complications

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Perinatal Medicine
• Fetal Monitoring

Background:

• Umbilical cord length is a variable parameter in term deliveries.
• Potential associations between cord length and intrapartum complications require investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that short or long umbilical cords are associated with specific intrapartum complications.
• To evaluate the relationship between umbilical cord length and fetal descent and heart rate abnormalities.

Main Methods:

• A study of 536 term deliveries was conducted.
• Umbilical cord length was measured, with short cords defined as ≤35 cm and excessively short cords as ≤25 cm.

Main Results:

• Umbilical cord accidents were most frequent with long cords (62%).
• Inadequate fetal descent occurred more often with long or excessively short cords.
• Fetal heart rate abnormalities were significantly more frequent with both short (63%) and long (87%) cords compared to normal length cords (37%).

Conclusions:

• Umbilical cord length measurement is simple and inexpensive.
• Cord length may help explain intrapartum fetal heart rate abnormalities and arrest of fetal descent.