Association of umbilical cord length with mode of delivery

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To find out the average length of umbilical cord, variation in umbilical cord length in our antenatal women and to see the the association of umbilical cord length with mode of delivery. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out at Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar Pakistan, from Jan 2018 to Dec 2018. Using non-probability convenience sampling technique, 3300 pregnant women with singleton fetus between 37-42 weeks of gestation were included in the study. Umbilical cord length was measured by standard measuring tape. Umbilical cord length was divided into three groups and its association with mode of delivery was noted in each group. RESULTS: Umbilical cord length in our study varied from 31-100 cm. The mean umbilical cord length was 56±9.01 cm among 3,300 participants. Short umbilical cord length (≥40 cm) was found in 62 (1.8%) cases, out of which 36 (58.06%) normal vaginal delivery (NVD) while 21 (33.87%) had Caesarean section (CS). Normal umbilical cord length (41-70 cm) was found in n=3,079 (93%) participants, out of which 2,188 (71.06%) had NVD while CS rate was 17.1% (n=526/3079). Long umbilical cord (>70 cm) was found in 159 (4.8%) cases, where 96 (60.4%) had NVD and 31 (19.5%) had CS. Nuchal cords were more common in long umbilical cord group (n=136/159; 85.53%) as compared to normal (n=371/3079; 12.04%) & short cord length (n=3/62; 4.83%). CONCLUSION: Both long and short umbilical cords are associated with higher rate of operative vaginal delivery and caesarean section. Nuchal cords were more in long umbilical cord group.