Two vessel cord

littlesocks · November 2015

Hi everyone! I'm 18 weeks along with identical mo/di twin boys.
I went for my anatomy scan earlier this week and one of the boys (baby A) has a 2 vessel umbilical cord. Does anyone have any experience with this? The doctor made sure I left feeling ok about the situation but of course, like an idiot, I started googling things and now I'm worried.

1. It can be a soft marker for trisomy 18. The tech nor doctor could see baby A's face because baby B's head was blocking it. So they will look in two weeks. But baby A's hands and head looked fine which could show other soft markers. Plus Baby B looked ok and I think they would both have trisomy 18 if one did, because they are identical, right?

2. The umbilical cord develops at the same time as the heart and kidneys. So this could mean there are problems with those organs (I actually read that on a bump article I found).

3. I'm sure there is more to be concerned about but I had to stop reading.

4. My doctor said it could cause growth problems because the baby isn't able to get enough nutrients. He said if I weren't already having twins and being monitored for growth they would start monitoring me closely because of this.

Edit to add #4

Jmw6t · November 2015

I am 35 weeks and 4 days with di/di twin boys and found out at 20 weeks that twin a had dilated kidneys and a 2 vessel cord. They gave me a huge scare, recommended genetic testing etc. at this ultrasound. It caused my husband and I great stress for a few weeks. We went and got the materniti21 test and it came back normal so they just monitored the baby extra close for growth restriction throughout the rest of my pregnancy. Funny thing is, my twin a has been slightly larger than twin b ever since and he was the one they were worried about being growth restricted because of the 2 vessel cord

. I think a lot of times 2vc babies turn out to be completely normal, and my MFM doctor told me that they have only recently started monitoring so closely to even notice a 2vc so there's no way of knowing the actual percent of babies who have been born that way in the past who have been just fine.

Hopefully your situation will be the same and it will just be a "scare" along the way to of an overall healthy pregnancy.

sugarpixxie2 · November 2015

My son had a 2 vessel cord. I was worried about the same things as you. He was born at 35 weeks, weighed 6 lbs 1 oz and he was fine. Just my personal experience.

PhillyJ33 · November 2015

Hi, my singleton (now 19MO) had a 2 vessel cord and I freaked out when I looked it up too. I had a fetal cardio scan done at a local children's hospital as a precaution and that was fine. they say as long as there aren't any other issues on the scan, everything is typically fine. I had genetic testing done as well, and that came back normal.
He was born at 38.5 weeks, 6 lb 15 oz and is a healthy active baby boy!
The tech who did my growth scan later on (which was fine) also had a boy with a 2 vessel cord and completely eased my fears. As a previous poster mentioned, they really just started having the technology available to pick up the 2 vessel cord so it wasn't monitored before.
Good luck and try and avoid the internet!

littlesocks · November 2015

Thank you ladies! I appreciate the comments.

SBmomma · December 2015

Little late here. My baby B had a 2 vessel cord. He also had a couple soft markers for Down's syndrome. We chose not to do further testing because I was keeping him regardless. When the twins were born at 39 weeks back in March, both babies were fine. A 2 vessel cord is a common abnormality with twins. Just take it one day at a time. I was so stressed during my pregnancy because of the anatomy scan. If we have more kids I may choose not to have the scan.

cgilday23 · December 2015

I have B/G twins here, 4 months old. At my 20 week u/s, I was told that twin A had a two vessel cord. I spent so much time googling and worrying, but she came out a very healthy 7lb 1oz baby! I know it's hard not to worry as that's what we inherently do as parents, but more than likely yout baby will be just fine

llwx2 · December 2015

Don't stress! I did the same and it was wasted worry. My baby A has a 2 vessel cord and a dilated kidney as well, we've done the detailed scans and an echocardiogram for defects, and watch his growth, and there seems to be nothing at all concerning! They told me the same about heart and kidneys developing at the same time so doing an echocardiogram and monitoring the dilated kidney helped put me at ease. We also did the testing (matrrniti21, or similar) and had low risk factors from that. I only did that to help inform care for the rest of pregnancy and birth. I'm now 33 weeks and both babies are the same as far as weight (they also mentioned the nutrition thing) and growth, and his kidney dilation is now normal for his body size, so I feel completely at ease! If your little one checks out the same way, I don't think there is anything to worry about. My dr told me it's somewhat common and there are small links to other problems but it's never an absolute or guarantee that it's a bad sign.

beetlebug15 · December 2016

I am currently pregnant with twins and luckily no defects were found. My older daughter however was born with a cord that was only 11 inches long and it was a 2 vessel cord. This was a suprise to everyone in the room as she technically shouldnt have made it to 36 weeks in utero and so healthy she didnt need to visit the nicu at all. She is doing great now and a healthy happy 4 almost 5 year old. We didnt have any indication when i was pregnant with her of the defects in her cord. She has no genetic issue and her organs function properly as far as we can tell. We have not had her tested invasively for kidney and liver function but all her urine screens come back perfect.

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