Causes of placenta wrapped around the baby's neck

The article was consulted with Doctor Bui Duc Hoan - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vinmec Nha Trang International Hospital.

The umbilical cord around the neck, also known in folklore as the neck corolla, occurs when the fetus is wrapped around the neck by the umbilical cord. This can happen at any time during pregnancy or during labor or delivery.

The placenta is a double-ended conduit to carry nutrients and oxygen from the mother's blood to the fetus, and also to carry metabolic products from the fetal blood to the mother's blood for excretion. The primary job of the placenta is to transport oxygen from the mother's blood to the fetal blood. For some reason this transport is disrupted, the fetus is deprived of oxygen and dies.
The umbilical cord usually has an average length of 50-60cm. The longer the umbilical cord is, the higher the risk of it getting wrapped around the baby's neck, arms, or legs or getting knotted. But there are times when the rope itself is shorter than the above length (for example, if the entire length of the string is under 35cm, it is called an absolute short string); or when the fetus moves in the uterine cavity, causing the placenta to wrap around the neck, legs or body, making the placenta shorten (this is called relatively short).
Theoretically, the movement of the fetus will cause the umbilical cord to stretch and lengthen. The long umbilical cord can get caught in the limbs or wrap around the neck of the fetus, causing the risk of continuous or partial blood vessel blockage.
The rate of fetuses with umbilical cord wrapped around the neck is about 12% for fetuses from 24-26 weeks, 37% in term fetuses. The good news is that the majority of cases of umbilical cord wrapping are not associated with perinatal morbidity and mortality. Perinatal mortality is the death of a fetus and newborn within 1 week of birth. That's why doctors rarely tell mothers that the fetus has an umbilical cord wrapped around its neck, except in serious cases that threaten the baby's life.

The identification of the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck is usually diagnosed by ultrasound. This usually occurs in the last 3 months of pregnancy. In some cases, the corolla was found around the neck at the 5-6th month. In addition, abnormal fetal movement can also be a sign of the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck. In many cases, the fetus is wrapped tightly with the umbilical cord, causing lack of oxygen, difficulty breathing, the fetus will kick more and more irregularly.

Parents should learn the details of the baby's development week by week.

In the first months of pregnancy, the fetus is like an ice cube lying in a large water tank, so it is very easy to move in the uterine cavity. During that movement, when the umbilical cord was still long, the fetus tangled the umbilical cord like a tangled thread, and the umbilical cord wrapped around the body or neck of the fetus. There are also cases when when a baby, the fetus moves a lot in the uterine cavity, causing the umbilical cord to become knotted. A knotted umbilical cord with a neck wrap will be very dangerous.
Or in the last 3 months, when the fetus turns its head down (called dominant pregnancy), the smooth umbilical cord is also easy to wrap around the fetus. The umbilical cord wrapped around the body of the fetus can be removed by itself, but when it is wrapped around the neck, there is a narrow gap between the head and shoulders, the placenta cannot be removed by itself, but gets tighter and tighter.
Mother's movement, overwork is the main cause of the phenomenon of the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck. This has been scientifically proven, when the mother is overworked, the fetus will tend to turn its head down more, making the umbilical cord very easy to curl around the body and wrap around the baby's neck. Therefore, pregnant women should pay attention during pregnancy to exercise gently, avoid overexertion. When tired, take time to rest and ask family members to help with errands.
According to doctors, pregnant women with excess amniotic fluid or polyhydramnios will increase the likelihood of the fetus being wrapped around the umbilical cord, especially in the last months of pregnancy. Another cause of umbilical cord wrapping is the length of the umbilical cord. Although the umbilical cord is 56cm long on average, there are still babies with longer umbilical cords. The longer the umbilical cord is, the more likely the fetus is to be strangled.

The fact that the fetus is wrapped around the neck by the umbilical cord is very rare with dangerous complications. If the pregnant woman is too worried about the fetus in this phenomenon, please talk to the obstetrician to receive useful advice. Normally, the umbilical cord wraps around the neck can lead to the following problems:
When the fetus is wrapped around the neck by the umbilical cord, the process of transporting blood and nutrients to the fetus will be hindered. So there is a high chance that the baby will be born with low birth weight, anemia, or even death in the womb. When the mother goes into labor, the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck can cause the fetus to hang high, making it difficult to pass through the cervix to get out. If the doctor promptly handles cases where the umbilical cord wraps around the neck, it is not dangerous for the newborn. However, if the umbilical cord is wrapped tightly, the baby may be deprived of oxygen. Therefore, for babies with the umbilical cord wrapped around their neck, after birth, if the mother finds that the baby has signs of convulsions, trembling limbs, it is necessary to take the baby to the doctor immediately.

First, mothers need to know that this condition is not dangerous, so there is no need to worry too much. In fact, quite a few babies are able to remove the umbilical cord wrapped around their neck at 18-25 weeks of gestation.
In case the baby is swaddled when he is an adult, there will be no method to remove it, what the mother needs to do is to have a prenatal check-up according to the doctor's regular schedule and regularly monitor the pregnancy. When you see your baby kicking too little or too much, you need to go to the hospital immediately.
The fetus is in the uterus and the umbilical cord to provide maternal circulation, so obstructions to the umbilical cord circulation are very dangerous for the fetus. The umbilical cord wrapped around the fetal neck is most of the normal physiology of the fetus, so the umbilical cord wrapped around the fetal neck is considered physiologically normal, and needs to be evaluated during regular antenatal check-ups, without any treatment. When seeing the phenomenon of the fetus less pedaling or less machine, the pregnant woman should be examined immediately to avoid affecting the health of the fetus.
At Vinmec International General Hospital, the doctor will perform fetal ultrasound to assess the fetal health, including viewing the fetal umbilical cord. Depending on the situation of the pregnant woman, the doctor will give appropriate indications. Most babies with only one umbilical cord wrapped around the umbilical cord are able to have a healthy birth.
To help mothers have a healthy pregnancy, Vinmec International General Hospital has provided maternity packages, helping pregnant women during pregnancy to be closely monitored and re-examined on schedule. Through regular checkups, if any abnormality is detected, the doctor will advise and give the best advice to the pregnant woman.
The examination process at Vinmec hospital by a team of qualified doctors combined with modern equipment system with advanced ultrasound machines in the world will give an accurate assessment.
To be examined by experienced obstetricians at Vinmec, please register directly at the website.