[ilonkaz]

Hi Everyone!

I am 23 weeks pregnant with my first baby. My pregnancy has been great thus far and I have been mentally and physically preparing myself for natural childbirth, reading a variety of books and taking prenatal yoga. I went to the doctor today and he told me that the anatomical scan revealed a marginal insertion of the umbilical cord, which means that my umbilical cord attaches itself on the side of the placenta, rather than in the middle. He told me that while there is nothing to worry about, he will monitor that the baby gains proper weight. I just wanted to find out if anyone knows whether this may impact my birthing options, since I really wanted to try natural childbirth. Thanks in advance!!!

[Deb]

Surprising, I have not run across this in my years of teaching. Well, at least no one has brought this to my attention. So I did a little bit of research on this and found that there is an increased risks of fetal hemorrhage and cord compression. (please remember, I am not a doctor and it is great that your doctor is keeping a close eye on the situation)

Should there be cord compression, that would eliminate the possibility of a vaginal birth since the cord can get compressed as the baby is passing through the cervix. However, you are only 23 weeks and as your uterus expands the placenta may lift (depending on where it is attached to the uterine lining) to allow space for the umbilical to drop freely without being impinged.

Hope this helps. I encourage you to try not to stress out about the situation. There is still plenty of time for the situation to change and before any decisions have to be made.

Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy!

Take care,
Deb