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Natural Birth
vszapp
member
Is cord around neck always a reason for c section?
vszapp
member
I have quite a number of friends that have planned on natural (or at least vaginal) birth, only to have to have a c section because the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. Is this another hospital risk-aversion thing, or will it really end up in c section even if at a birth center under the care of a midwife? It sounds like an awful thing, but then again, I don't hear too much about it in home birth stories...
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Re: Is cord around neck always a reason for c section?
No. My sister's first baby was born vaginally with the cord wrapped around her neck twice and she was perfectly fine.
My LO had the cord wrapped around her neck twice and I needed a c/s due to fetal distress. The length of the cord, how it is wrapped and how many times, your fluid levels, all kinds of things factor in. In my case, my fluid levels were low and the cord was on the shorter side. She wasn't descending because the cord was holding her up and the cord was also being compressed.
This. A lot of babies are born with cords wrapped to some degree.
All three of my kids have had the cord around their neck. It's very common and usually the MW or doc will simply unwind it before you push the shoulders out.
In my homebirth DD had it wrapped around once and we unwound it after she was completely delivered (because I shot her out too fast to unwind it earlier).
It's when the cord is ightly wrapped or you have a shorter cord that it is a problem and you can usually indicate that when the baby's heart rates decline with pushing and you're having a difficult time pushing.
This. It's actually very common for the cord to be wrapped around the neck and usually it does not pose any problems.
To add to the list of things: Mine had the cord around her neck and prob'ly would have been fine except that the placenta was at the top of my uterus. Which I am told is a "great" place for the placenta....Between that and how many times she had the cord wrapped (3?) she ended up strangling herself ever time She tried to decend to the next position.
Not to hijack the post, but a separate question: Is it possible to determine the cord is wrapped in an u/s?
I have a routine 34 week u/s and am wondering if they'd be able to detect it then? DS didn't have it wrapped around his neck and I had a very smooth, natural delivery. Guess I'm just curious. I'm trying to familiarize myself with all the potential things that would warrant interventions this time around so that I'm prepared to make an informed decision if need be.
Yes, but that doesn't mean that the baby can't get the cord wrapped around it's neck right before delivery or even unwrap it before delivery.
On my midwife's website they have a birth story of a baby girl who had the cord wrapped 3x and was born unconsceince (I cannot spell that word, sorry). The midwives in attendence told the father but not the laboring mom and as soon as baby was delivered the cord was unwrapped and she was recesitated. The baby was just fine, with no long term problems (story is about 4yrs old).
When I first called them I asked why my midwife why the mom wasn't told. She said sometimes its a choice they make with lots of factors, but in this case her labor had just pickex up after a long lull and mom was going to have the baby out quickly. She also noted that while she was telling the dad the new mom actually delivered with one of the other midwives, and the new dad was better prepared to keep his wife calm while their daughter was being cared for.
this...all of this! and approx 33% of babies are born with a nuchal cord. i've only had to cut a few on the peri if they were so tight that the rest of the body couldn't come out.