The Length of Umbilical Cord and Perinatal Outcome

Abstract

The umbilical cord is the lifeline of the fetus: It's one of the most important parts of the fetoplacental unit. Careful umbilical cord examination often reveals significant lesions which may be associated with these processes. This study aimed to study the correlation of umbilical cord length with fetal parameters among 100 pregnant Iraqi women with singleton pregnancy with gestational age between 37 completed weeks to 41 completed weeks in the department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Baghdad Teaching Hospital for during 2013-2014. The umbilical cords and placentae had been examined after delivery for any abnormalities of shape of placenta, the site of umbilical cord insertion in it, abnormalities and the relation of these parameters to perinatal outcome. Long umbilical cord was significantly associated with Non-reassuring fetal heart (P=0.03), low apgar scores. Short umbilical cords had a significant association with low apgar score (P<0.05) while other clinical and perinatal outcome parameters showed no significant correlation with umbilical cord length (p>0.05).