Just found out I have an SUA umbilical cord...anyone else experience this?

[The_Princess's_Mommy]

Hi dis friends! Looking for advice/guidance from anyone else who has experience with SUA (single umbilical artery) babies. I just had my 20 week u/s and this was discovered on my baby today.

This is my 2nd baby - and we found out it will be a girl (we already have a beautiful 2 year old girl and are so excited about her new sister-to-be!). Everything else on the u/s came out fine, the only big problem was the SUA discovery. Doctor assured me that this is not uncommon, and that I shouldn't worry. But of course all I can do is worry!

Can anyone speak from experience?? Thanks, friends!

 

[2sets]

I had a baby with a SUA. She is a twin and it's supposedly more common in twin sets. Anyway, it never caused any issues...she's now a totally healthy 3.5yr old!

 

[PrincessParty]

No experience, but wanted to offer you a hug.

 

[The_Princess's_Mommy]

Thanks for your support! The hardest part is not knowing much about this. It's going to be a long 20 more weeks...

 

[mybabesuz]

My DD now 3 had one.
I was induced at 38 week because of Gestational Diabetes.
She weighed 8lb 5oz and is perfect...

 

[Fall1]

I had a baby with a SUA. She is a twin and it's supposedly more common in twin sets. Anyway, it never caused any issues...she's now a totally healthy 3.5yr old!

I could have written this exact post, but mine is now a totally healthy 2.5 year old

 

[AKADrea]

I work in L&D -it usually doesn't pose any problems - rest your mind at ease, mama!

 

[AntePrincess]

According to the u/s, our first baby had a SUA. Who knows if she really did or not, it's apparently an extremely over diagnosed trait, and even where you have a genuine SUA, it's usually double the diameter of the average individual umbilical artery, meaning that the two arteries simply fused in development and the same amount of blood is going back and forth. As far as I know, the concern in a genuine SUA where the only artery is the size of the average artery in a regular umbilical cord, is that the baby will be underweight, and it's no certainty they will be at that. Mine wasn't. So the diagnosis is nothing but a heads up to keep an eye on the size and things like that.

 

[Pirate1+Princess4]

One of my quads had a SUA. She was the heaviest of the 4 and actually had too many RBCs at birth. She was able to equalize without medication. Apparantly it can be an indicator of cardiac or renal issues, but I think the percentages are quite small.

We did have a cardiac u/s done at Children's Hospital to rule out any cardiac issues. If an issue was found, they would have been better able to prepare for her needs at birth. It turned out to be fine. I don't know if this was done as a matter of routine, because I was already high risk due to a previous incompetent cervix and multiples, or because we had a previous baby who was born with multiple congenital issues.

Our last hurdle was the kidney u/s they do on all preemies before leaving the NICU. She was fine there too. She was a preemie because she was a quadruplet, not because of the SUA.

She is a delightful, healthy 7 year old, who right now is doing an extra math worksheet "for fun".

 

[kokotg]

My 3 1/2 year old had one. They sent me to the neonatologist for another ultrasound, and I had a few other extra ultrasounds to make sure he was growing okay (ha! he was 9 lb 5 oz at 40 weeks on the nose). The SUA can be a marker for a lot of different problems, but as long as everything else looks fine on the ultrasounds, the odds are very good that it's just a random quirk and nothing to worry about at all. My baby was completely healthy and perfect

 

[allie1078]

i had this with my now 12 year old dd. She is perfectly healthly and has never had any health issues.

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

One of my quads had a SUA. She was the heaviest of the 4 and actually had too many RBCs at birth. She was able to equalize without medication. Apparantly it can be an indicator of cardiac or renal issues, but I think the percentages are quite small.

We did have a cardiac u/s done at Children's Hospital to rule out any cardiac issues. If an issue was found, they would have been better able to prepare for her needs at birth. It turned out to be fine. I don't know if this was done as a matter of routine, because I was already high risk due to a previous incompetent cervix and multiples, or because we had a previous baby who was born with multiple congenital issues.

Our last hurdle was the kidney u/s they do on all preemies before leaving the NICU. She was fine there too. She was a preemie because she was a quadruplet, not because of the SUA.

She is a delightful, healthy 7 year old, who right now is doing an extra math worksheet "for fun".

We also were diagnosed with the SUA--however, we are the exception to the rule. Please have a higher level u/s done to examine for renal and cardiac issues. My ds7 did have a heart defect and had it repaired at 2 weeks of age. He is our little miracle, but if we had not known of his condition in advance he could have died at home. He scored an 8/10 on his Apgar at birth and looked totally healthy. Sending you prayers and hugs that you are with the majority and there is nothing to be concerned about.

 

[susykt4]

Another good outcome... DD9 was 8# and has had no health problems.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

not a SUA but DS had a vellementous cord insertion. both can cause low birth weight. i was induced at 38 weeks b/c he wasn't growing all that well inside. he was 5lb 12oz...not too small at all!

they will probably do ultrasounds more often. also, my doc put me on partial bedrest and had me lay on my left side as much as possible. sounds a little silly but it helps get most nutrients to baby. with SUA it may help. try to stay on your left side as much as possible.

good luck! KUP on your little gal!!

 

[kristinw3girls]

I also had the same issue. We were told to prepare for a small, preemie sized baby. She was born at 36 weeks and weighed 10.2 lbs!! WOW The nurses needed to go to the periatric dept. to get gowns for her to wear! On the down side, she did have all of the tests and WAS found to have kidney malfunction. It hasn't always been easy but she is (for the moment) a happy healthy 8 year old.

 

[pixienurse1]

6 years ago next month I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy little girl. She had a SUA and when it was discovered on US I was devistated. Being the nurse (RN) that I am, this news sent me scurrying to the textbooks and internet to research just "how bad it was going to be". What I discovered was that it was not uncommon and that most pregnancies with SUA deliver healthy babies.
Emily was born full term and weighed in at 7# 15.8oz.
Keep your chin up and embrace the joy of pregnancy and motherhood there is nothing else in the world than can compare.

 

[Nom]

Wow, I wish I had this board as a resource when I was pregnant with my daughter, who had a two vessel cord (as my dr at the time called it) as well. Of course, I googled it right away and read all kinds of terrible things, and I was worried for the rest of my pregnancy (and for a little while after dd was born, as well!)

Anyway, I too had monthly U/Ss after they discovered it, the first to check her heart and kidneys, and then to monitor growth. I went into labor at 42 weeks and delivered a 10 pd 1 oz baby girl! I said to my dr, 'what would she have been- 20 pds if she had a normal cord???'

Since then, she has been at or above all her milestones, and is now a super- smart kindergartener. Try not to worry mama (easier said than done, I know)- this is more common than we think, and usually everything turns out just fine! Best of luck to you and your new little girl!

 

[The_Princess's_Mommy]

Thanks everyone for your words of wisdom. It's emotionally healing to hear both the positive and also the not so positive outcomes.

Question for you moms who have been there before...is there something in particular I should be doing (besides the regular stuff like take my vitamins, get lots of rest, drink lots of water, etc)? Any words of advice you can pass along?

Thanks again!

 

[PaulaSue]

My 3rd DD had it. We had a lot of testing done, U/S every month from finding it out, hooked up to the machines 2 times a week to check for contractions to see how she was doing.

IT was very stressfull time (I also had 2 toddlers that came to every appt with me) and was put on Rest from 19 weeks on (I had lost a twin the pregnancy before and other medical issues).

You hear/read so much it is scary. She had IUGR issues and they threatened to take her early and put her in NICU but ended up being induced 9 days overdue (all my girls were overdue) with her cord wrapped 2 times around her neck almost had a c-section but TG by the 3rd birth 2 pushes and she was out.

Thankful Ash only has minor spine issues but I know others from a Mommy board I used to be on who were not so lucky. Also some on there had no problems.

If you ever need to talk PM me. It has been 6 1/2 years since Ash was born but I so remember how scary of a time it was and how it helped to talk to others who been there.

 

[PaulaSue]

Thanks everyone for your words of wisdom. It's emotionally healing to hear both the positive and also the not so positive outcomes.

Question for you moms who have been there before...is there something in particular I should be doing (besides the regular stuff like take my vitamins, get lots of rest, drink lots of water, etc)? Any words of advice you can pass along?

Thanks again!

Rest as much as possible and know other than eating right and taking care of you there is nothing you can do to make it better/worst. It is in God's or whom every you look up to hands.