ABNORMALITIES OF CORD POSITION

Loops of umbilical cord normally lie anterior to the fetal abdominal wall adjacent to the limbs.

The cord may, however, loop around the fetal neck, limbs, around the shoulders or lie between the presenting part and the lower uterine segment (funic presentation).

• Kamina and DeTourris (1) - 1750 deliveries; 4 prolapses, 232 neck loopings, 45 shoulder loopings and 13 cord knots.
• Walker and Pye (2) - 17% incidence of nuchal cord at delivery.

The most common cord malpositions include:

1. Neck, body and shoulder loopings.

2. Cord prolapses.

3. Cord knots.

REFERENCES

1. Kamina P, DeTourris H. The diagnosis of umbilical cord complications with the help of ultrasonic tomography. Electromedica 1977;7:50.
2. Walker CW, Pye BG. The length of the human umbilical cord: A statistical report. Br Med J 1960;1:546.