Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Update - Marginal Insertion of the Umbilical Cord

I spoke to my doctor today because I really needed some clarification of the info that I was given on Friday.

But, first a little vent. I call the office today and explain that I want to speak to an actual doctor as the nurse that I was speaking to really did not give me lots of info. I remembered her name, so when asked, I gave it. Told the receptionist that I really needed a doc, not a nurse to call me back. No problem, they will have the doc call back later in the day. I explained what info I needed clarified as well.

Fast forward to later in the day, the SAME nurse calls me that called me on Friday. She was really just calling to make sure what I had questions about. So, I told her and she then repeated the same info that she gave me on Friday and asked if I still needed to talk to the doc. Um, yeah...annoying.

So, the doc finally calls back. I do indeed have something called a "Marginal Insertion of the Umbilical Cord" basically that means that the cord is attached to the placenta on the side, rather than then middle. The middle is the meaty part, so of course that is where it is best.

I really needed more info about this, because there were tons of people that told me that they had it and the type of monitoring and/or complications they had. I wanted to make sure I was prepared for whatever was possible.

He said that while the marginal insertion in itself is kinda rare, most people have no complications from it. Of course I dug deeper, and asked for percentages. He said about 15-25% of pregnancies with this condition will have babies with growth restriction. That is still a pretty high number.

They will do scans starting early in the 3rd tri to check for growth, and if restricted, the level of restriction will determine how often the scans are done. It could be every 2 weeks or every 4.

If the growth seems to be a big problem, I may be admitted to the hospital to very closely monitor growth and fetal distress. OK, good to know.

I asked about a higher chance of a c-section. He said that if I fall into that 25%, then there is a high possibility that a c-section would happen. This is because if they determine that the growth is restricted, then it is best to get the baby out ASAP, so that would not include a vaginal delivery. Plus, the quicker the delivery, the less stress it puts on an already stressed baby. Again, good to know.

But, he did say that I fall into the other 75% where growth is not restricted, then a vagainal delivery would be just fine.

At least I got some more information that I did not get on Friday. So, here I am praying for the best.

1 comment:

Leah said...

I'm glad to know you got some answers. I can only imagine how crazy you must have been waiting all weekend. Hopefully everything will be fine! Now you know and you'll get to see your baby more often to make sure he or she is doing well!
Feeling those movements yet?

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