Is fetal growth affected by cord entanglement?
Cord entanglement is a common occurrence during delivery. We examined the association of cord complications observed at delivery and birth weight. A retrospective survey of 12,241 births was performed, supplemented with a prospective study of an additional 456 deliveries. No adverse association was found in the retrospective data between cord coiled twice or more around the newborns' neck (8.3% of cases) and birth weight. Moreover, the incidence of cord around neck was significantly lower (p < 0.0006) in infants weighing less than 2000 gm at birth. A multiple regression analysis of the prospective data did not reveal any significant influence of cord complications on birth weight. We conclude that cord entanglement was not found to be a major cause of intrauterine disadvantage in pregnancies with a viable infant at term, as reflected by birth weight.
Lipitz
S
S
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.
Seidman
D S
DS
Gale
R
R
Stevenson
D K
DK
Alcalay
M
M
Menczer
J
J
Barkai
G
G
D000328:Adult; D001034:Apgar Score; D001724:Birth Weight; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000473:pathology