My wife delivered a baby girl with short umbilical cord through C.S afters days leaking of water.she was induced about 3 to 4 times within 2 days and the cervix wasn't opened,and the doctor advice for C.S to save the of baby because he said it is the water live upon.After many research/finding the cause couldn't be found and that it happened naturally like that.PLS DOCTOR(EXPERT) IN THESE ARE MY QUESTIONS (1)WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF BABY BEING BORN WITH SHORT CORD (2)WHAT CAN SOMEBODY DO TO FORESTALL THIS CAN THING IN NEXT PREGNANCY (3) IS THERE ANY SIDE EFFECT FOR BABY BORN WITH SHORT CORDS. Pls i need matured respone(especially doctor in this field) Because our doctor said it was the cord that prevent the from travel down to cervix and if force the cord can break or placental eruption causing the death of the baby and damage of womb and the mother,

pls want reply with fact that someone can have in black and white,links for further studies or books that can be read. thanks

pls, i'm still waiting for reply from doctor in the house,anybody who had any experience on it or anybody with any ideal on this issue.thanks,

I'm no doctor but I did a little research online and here are a few links I think you should read.

http://www.marchofdimes.com/complications_umbilical.html

http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/814875/very-short-umbilical-cord

@pslm23 thanks i will check the links

PLS,I STIL NEED AND WAITING FOR MORE OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION, DOCTORS,MOTHERS,FATHER AND MATURED MINDED PERSONNEL IN THE HOUSE WHO HAVE THE EXPERIENCE OF THIS SHORT UMBILICAL CORD.THANKS,

@poster - will get back to you shortly.

Romeo4real:

@poster - will get back to you shortly.

thanks,i will really appreciate if u can give me some link n information dat i can study too

@nath01 -

Did some research on Short Umbilical Cord Syndrome (SUC) and the conclusion is that no one knows why it occurs, nor how it can be prevented. It is a well known, but little understood phenomena. The normal length of the umbilical cord can vary from no cord at all(achordia), to up to 300cm, with diameters up to 3 cm. The average length is 55cm long, but about 5% of cords are shorter than 35cm. Also, for unknown reasons, most cords coil to the left.
Whilst the cause of differences in cord length are unknown, the length of the cord is thought to reflect movement of the fetus in utero. Short cords are associated with some type constraint in the uterus, and the inability of the fetus to move properly. This may indicate fetuses with gross structural or functional limb defects that limited intrauterine movement.

It seems the umbilical cord growth occurs in response to tensile forces relating to intrauterine space availability and fetal movement during early development. Although short cords have been blamed for the inability of some fetuses to deliver vaginally, available data suggest that vaginal delivery can take place with cords as short as 13cm , which is much shorter than the normal range. Moreover if a cord is too short to deliver vaginally, fetal heart monitoring will indicate stress, in which case a CS will be performed. Whilst SUC syndrome does not normally lead to fatality of the child, or of the mother,a short umbilical cord (<30 cm) can affect the fetus in that fetal movements can cause cord compression, constriction and ruptures; which can be fatal.

Also, assessing cord length prenatally is almost impossible, but ultrasound scans may be used to detect it on occasion. Some references below.


http://jdm.sagepub.com/content/17/5/253.abstract
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/262470-overview
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stillbirth

@Romeo4real,thanks a lot 4 ur contribution,with ur contribution,my doctor/nurses words,our friend words n experiences sheared n my own personal findings n research my fear is now elevated,my baby has no problem in any both physically n mentally.my prayer is dat God wil guide us in d next pregenancy n make everytin perfect dat my wife have viginal delivery 2 avoid C.S