title: Velamentous cord insertion: significance of prenatal detection to predict perinatal complications.
abstract: In the maternal and child health statistics of Japan for 2003, perinatal deaths were most frequent in pregnant women with abnormalities of the placenta, umbilical cord, and fetal membrane. Despite advances in perinatal medicine, approximately 2% of low-risk pregnant women still require an emergency cesarean section after the onset of labor. Because it is likely that half of these cases are associated with placental and umbilical cord abnormalities, it is thought that prenatal detection of such abnormalities would reduce the number of emergency cesarean sections in low-risk women. In our previous studies, some abnormalities of the placenta and umbilical cord were associated with abnormalities of cord insertion. Furthermore, we reported that prenatal detection of velamentous cord insertion (VCI) reduced the number of emergency cesarean sections in low-risk women. In this review, we describe the prenatal detection of abnormalities of umbilical cord insertion and the management of VCI based on our current clinical data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. hasejun@oak.dti.ne.jp
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Ryu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: Kiyotake
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ichizuka
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sekizawa
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okai
mesh_terms: D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000601:surgery; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D012307:Risk Factors; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging