Everything about the umbilical cord

What does the umbilical cord include?

Inside the umbilical cord there are three blood vessels: two arteries and a vein, resting in a kind of gelatinous tissue called “Wharton’s jelly”. The umbilical vein supplies the fetus with blood rich in oxygen, nutrients (mineral salts, amino acids, glucose, etc.), but also antibody to hormones coming from the placenta. The fetal venous blood, rich in carbon dioxide, is carried by the umbilical arteries to the placenta, to be “cleaned”.

What does the umbilical cord look like?

At birth, the cord measures approximately 55 cm for 1,5 cm in diameter. It has a helical shape. Its color is pearly white.

Are all umbilical cords the same?

No. Some umbilical cords are a bit special : too short (less than 30 cm) or on the contrary too long (more than one meter). Others may have a knot formed during your baby’s many somersaults. The latter situation can be serious and reduce the oxygen supply needed by the baby. Sometimes the cord can wrap around an arm (sling), leg, or baby’s neck (circular). It is difficult to distinguish these peculiarities on ultrasound and most often they are not discovered until birth. Most of the time, if they are loose, they do not cause any harm and the cordon continues to ensure the necessary exchanges. On the other hand, if the wrapping is tight or multiple, the oxygenated blood supply may be reduced during contractions and force the doctor to take your baby out more quickly. Rarely (2% of pregnancies), the cord may contain only one umbilical artery. Often diagnosed on ultrasound during pregnancy, this finding can be indicative of a urogenital or cardiac malformation.

What can the umbilical cord reveal?

The umbilical cord allows collect valuable information about the baby’s health thanks to various examinations carried out during pregnancy or after birth. The exploration of the umbilical artery by ultrasound, thanks to Doppler, makes it possible to study the resistance of the placenta and to highlight, when they rise, an intrauterine growth retardation. To diagnose certain infectious diseases (rubella, toxoplasmosis), blood or chromosomes at an advanced stage of pregnancy, fetal blood punctured directly on the cord, this is cordocentesis. This delicate technique, performed under ultrasound, can be used from the 18th week of pregnancy until term and allows rapid results (3 days) to be obtained. Sometimes a baby needs special care after birth. The pediatrician can assess the extent of fetal suffering that appears during labor thanks to biological assays (pH, lactates) carried out in the blood of the cord.

What is the role of the umbilical cord at the time of birth?

It is at the time of birth that your baby is breathing air for the first time. This event quickly leads to major changes: the fetal circulatory system changes, a new direction of blood circulation is born, its lungs begin to ensure gas exchange, then blood circulation in the cord is interrupted in a few minutes. The baby is now breathing independently. So it’s time to cut the cord! Cord clamping is carried out by the installation of two clamps separated by ten centimeters. Then the midwife cuts the cord between the pliers. Near your baby’s abdomen, she places a sterile forceps called Barr’s forceps, and cuts the remaining piece of cord 1 cm away from the forceps. A sterile gauze held by a band around the baby’s belly is then put in place.

What do you do with the umbilical cord after birth?

Most of the time it is thrown away after birth, but the cord blood donation can be used to save lives. The cells in cord blood are collected by approved laboratories and are used to treat blood diseases such as leukemia. Information from the French Blood Establishment.

Does the umbilical cord require special care?

The small end of the remaining cord is no longer vascularized, it will dry out, blacken and generally fall 10 to 21 days after birth. In its place, will form the navel. In the maternity ward and at home, cord care is necessary for it to heal perfectly. Often apprehended by the mother, they are actually very simple and not painful for the baby. Gather everything you need to care for your infant’s navel. A baby cools very quickly. Once it is installed on the changing table, care must be quick and efficient.

The most important thing is to keep the cord clean and dry. At the time of bathing or outside if it is wet or soiled, the cord is washed with soap and then dried with a compress. An antiseptic is applied. Then, another compress is applied around the clamp, which is removed around the 3rd day. Once the clamp has been removed, the cord is left in the open. Care must be continued until complete healing.