marginal cord insertion
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Anonymous
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i was just diagnosed at my 20 week u/s with this. my doctor explained what it is and that it is different from a velamentous cord insertion (although i am still unclear as to whether a marginal insertion can ever become a velamentous insertion as the placenta migrates). my doctor said he is going to do growth u/s every four weeks to make sure the baby is getting enough nutrients.
i'm just wondering if anyone has ever had any experiences with this. my doctor told me not to worry, and that he would know more at my 28 week U/S, but i can't help but be concerned. |
Anonymous
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I had this, and everything worked out great. I have a healthy 5 month old. She was small, 6 lbs, which may or may not have been related. I had lots and lots of ultrasounds!
I did end up having a c-section because she was breech and they didn't want to risk trying to turn her because of the cord issues. It can be really hard to distinguish marginal from velamentous by ultrasound. I know when they removed the place at they said it was a "text book example." Feel free to ask any questions, I know I had a hard time finding info after my diagnosis. |
Anonymous
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OP here. I'm not sure if the PP is still checking this forum but if so, thank you so much for your response.
Did you have any restrictions placed on you because of the cord insertion (e.g., lifting, traveling) Just wondering - I've got a hefty toddler and travel a fair amount for work. I'm trying to prepare all! I'm going to ask my OB at my next appointment but that's not for a few weeks ... And was there anything different other than the ultrasounds that you were aware of? Thanks again! |
Anonymous
| OP- I was also diagnosed with this, and I can't help but feel worried. I am trying not to look at google because that will only worry me more. Do you have any info that you can share with me as far as restrictions are concerned? They noticed the problem at 18 weeks, and my next US is not until 22 weeks. It took me so long to finally get pregnant, I just want to make it to 36 weeks! |
Anonymous
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PP from before.
No, I had no restrictions related to the marginal cord insertion. I had gestational diabetes, so I had diet restrictions, but that was totally unrelated. (It was actually kind of funny, because they were busy watching her to make sure she was growing enough, but also obsessed with my blood sugar to make sure she didn't get too big.) Really, my ob and the perinatalogists I saw treated it like no big deal other than the extra monitoring. I actually had a pretty easy pregnancy. They did warn me that a c-section was more likely, but if she had shown any inclination to move out of breech position they would have let me try a vaginal birth. I traveled (plane) when I was 7 months pregnant without any problems. |
Anonymous
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I was just diagnosed with this yesterday at my 20 week scan. My Dr. made it sound like it was nothing, we only needed to monitor growth to make sure that the baby is getting enough nutrients so I have an u/s every 4 weeks. No other info at all. The more I am reading the more I am starting to panic. I wish I knew what t ask while I was at the Dr., I don't go back until next month. The thing I am seeing the most is c-section, and even though it's irrational, i have a terrible terrible fear of having to have one. Just thinking about it is making me dizzy and sweaty. =( I really can't find much, mostly old posts from people who either had no trouble at all, or people who had complications as severe as to cause stillbirth.
So though I can't offer any useful information, as I have none myself, I just wanted to let you know there are people in the same boat, trying to become informed. |
Anonymous
This is the PP who is in the same position as you. I was told not to look on the internet about this issue because individuals who have bad experiences are the ones most likely to post. For once, I am taking that advice and not going to google to look this up. My understanding is that 7% of all pregnancies have marginal cord insertion, and for most people, there is no problem at all. However, you should expect to have a c-section to be on the safe side. |
Anonymous
| PP here who had this and had a healthy baby. My doctor told me that a lot of marginal cord insertions aren't even diagnosed until the placenta is delivered, and most of them are completely healthy babies and normal deliveries. |
Anonymous
NP here. I had a marginal cord insertion with one of my twins. Sometimes they would call it velamentous, sometimes just marginal, so I was never quite sure which it was exactly! I am a physician, and even with all the information I had available to me from some physician specific websites, and from very frank discussions with my OB and the high risk OB, I was still at times confused, and always a bit on edge. For me, this diagnosis meant some very close monitoring of the baby's growth. There was also weekly monitoring of blood flow to the baby. Some weeks we would see increased resistance to blood flow, which would prompt the high risk OB to put me on modified bed rest. Other weeks it would be better. There were no diet restrictions. Towards the end of the pregnancy, I had to go in for twice weekly monitoring (which is still better than being admitted for absolute bed rest, something they considered a couple of times!), with stress testing done on a weekly basis (just another ultrasound, not all that stressful!). Every visit, we would be reassured that the baby was growing and that the baby was in no obvious distress, which would buy us a few more days in the womb. In the end, I made it to full term and an eventual induction. I did end up with a C/S due to some apparent distress on baby B's part during labor, but this may have been due in part to the twin factor, and some other unrelated issues with baby B. The section went perfectly fine, and both babies are doing great...comparing one to the other, it is obvious that the marginal cord insertion had no lasting effects  . My best piece of advice to those of you going through this is to just take it one visit at a time. Try to relax as much as possible (emotionally and physically), and to rest whenever you can, since this will help deliver the most bloodflow to your baby. The one redeeming thing in all this was the many opportunities to see the babies!
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Anonymous
| bump. please reply with positive stories! |
Anonymous
| One of my twins was diagnosed with this on an ultrasound, and she's fine. I googled the term, and was concerned. I had many ultrasounds as well as non-stress tests at GW MFA, and everything turned out fine. I delivered them at 37 weeks by C-section. She weighed 5 pounds 1 ounce and her brother weighed 5 pounds 14 ounces. I wouldn't worry. |
Anonymous
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thanks, PP! still going to worry, but this helps
I am also at MFA. Any other experiences? |
Anonymous
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While I'm not on the other side yet... I was told after a visit to the Perinatologist around 24 weeks that there was a marginal cord insertion. They told me not to worry, that the baby was in the 48th percentile, a natural birth is still very possible and that most babies are fine. Fast forward to week 32 when I went back to the Perinatologist who said the baby is only in the 19th percentile for weight, but that the blood flow through the placenta and umbilical cord seemed fine. Of course I googled and scared the living daylights out of myself. I go back this week, week 35, to find out how she's growing.
From what I understand, I wouldn't be overly concerned about the marginal cord diagnosis, but I would monitor fetal kicks and maybe inquire about periodic NSTs. Whatever you do, stay away from google. 
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Anonymous
| Good luck PP! |
Anonymous
| I had a marginal cord insertion & delivèred a healthy baby last week at GW hospital last week. I had a c-section not because of this, but other reasons that made me high risk. I avoided looking at google, but did learn that it affects 7 percent of all pregnancies so it is fairly common. Good luck! |