i was told after my u/s today that they found the baby's umbilical cord only have two vessels instead of the normal 3. between what the doctor told me and my research on the internet i found that is is sometimes linked tot trisomy,heart and kidney conditions. i refused the amnio because of my lenghty past with pre-term labor. and i have the Nuchal fold scan done early in pregnancy wich came back negative. are there other tests wich can be done beside CVS and amnio that can check for chromosonal abnormalities? such as a blood test? i was not offered anything after i turned down the amnio. any help or experience with this would be very calming right now! thanks

~nikki

Nikki,
I don't have experience with the 2 vessels, but I do have experience with testing. My baby's nuchal scan came back in the high risk category. Because of the increased risk of miscarriage and the fact that we wouldn't terminate, I opted to not have an amnio or cvs. We waited until our 17 week "big" ultrasound - this is when they can scrutinize all of the baby, organs, etc for any abnormalities, or markers for certain syndromes. Fortunately for us, our baby was deemed "normal", although they do stress that it is not a diagnostic conclusion, like it would be with an amnio or cvs. However, it was adequate for our peace of mind. Best of luck to you! :)

im 22 weeks and i just found out that my babys cord only has the 2 vessels. i am worried from all the things ive read online. they say the baby seems fine but i have to go for a more in depth ultrasound in a couple weeks. i cant handle the not knowing so if anybody has been through this please let me know more about it. thanks tracy

When I was pregnant with my first DS I had the single unbilical artery. I did get the amnio because I like to be prepared. It came out negative but we were watched closely by a perinatologist. He was born with Vater association. Now at the age of almost 3 he is completely normal. If you need more details or info let me know.

 

Jennifer

2weeks ago on my 28week ultrasound they told me that my babys umbilical cord only has 2 vessels instead of the normal 3. this really worries me, but my doctor said it "SHOULDNT" be nothing to worry about. but things i read on the internet really scared me..is there anyone else out there that had these problems? he said the baby will probly be born with a urinary tract infection..and i thought it was bad for babies to get infections at such an early age?! but this is really worry me... someone plz help me.. or should i just keep askin my doctor questions about this. i mean i have a right to but he said it SHOULDNT be nothing to worry about..but it really does bother me bcuz i just want whats best for my baby

I haven't personally had to go through this but my best friend found out after her 1st was born that her umbilical cord only had 2 vessels, she was small, right at 6 lbs, but perfect, she's now almost 4 and has never had any problems because of it. I wouldn't worry. There are a lot of other factors your Dr can look at to see if your baby is going to have problems and if this is the only thing that they've noticed, I wouldn't stress, that's not good for baby! Take care of yourself, good luck and congratulations on your new baby!

I am a student nurse (graduating on June 13th! YaY!) and just did an OB rotation and took care of a baby with a 2 vessel cord. Just like Gianna's Mommy said, this baby was just really little. She weighed under 6 lbs but other than that she was perfect! I don't know much about the various defects that can be associated with the 2 vessel cord but I just wanted to share that perfectly healthy babies are also born with only 2 vessels. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I just wanted to say that I when I was born they discovered that I had a2 vessel umbilical cord. I am 38 years old and I am completely normal (although some might disagree, haha). I was smallish (5lbs 16 oz) but completely fine. I am healthy. My newly born niece also has only a 2 vessel umbilical cord. She is normal too. Genetic maybe?

The more research I do I feel better. I went to my last drs appt last week and told him that the 4D u/s was too expensive and my insurance won't cover it because they wouldn't bill it as a complication. He told me worst case the baby would be born with a bladder infection. So it would cost me over $1000.00 to do the u/s to tell me that or $18.00 to buy antiboitics to fix the problem when the baby is born. Sometimes I think the Drs make you worry too much. Everything else checks out fine, glad to hear that you did as well. I was never told that my first was a 2 vessel cord baby she was 7lbs 7oz and perfect. Thanks for the imput...

i had an ultrasound today and was also told the the baby has a 2 vessel cord.  the only thing that still makes me nervous is that i also had the quad screen blood test and it came back abnormal.  any advice???

How far along are you? I was told at 20 weeks I had to do the 4D u/s before my 24th week. I had a quad test as well and mine came back normal; however an abnormal quad test just means you have to go through more testing. And it doesn't always mean that there is something wrong. Remember that most babies with abnormal tests are actually doing just fine. There is a big overlap between the results from healthy babies and the results of fetuses with problems. In order to be sure that all the fetuses with these problems are identified, and that the appropriate definitive testing is done, a lot of people carrying normal healthy fetuses go through a scare, and get more testing done such asamniocentesis or in-depth u/s. Hopefully your insurance will cover the 4D u/s they can determine mostly everything with that. Good luck and try not to worry about it.

I had the same thing, but we didnt know until our son was born. THey never caught it on ultrasound. He wasnt born with any infections...or kidney or heart problems. He was born so healthy. We never had a moment of problems...and he is just as healthy and sharp as a tack today at 14 months. Try not to worry yourself. These doctors know alot..and they have to tell you the what-ifs but more often than not it turns out better than what they tell you. And if the baby has an infection some antibiotics will not hurt him...even though they are new to the world. good luck to you.