Single Umbilical Artery, reason to worry?

[Geronimo '74]

Little over a month ago my sister and BIL told me they were expecting a baby.
This is great news of course.

My sister never had a child wish but this feeling changed a bit in the last years.
And without actually trying to get pregnant they decided to let nature run its course. And it has.

She's 45 and in good health.
She sees an OBGYN and has check ups regularly .

Baby is due for October.

Yesterday, during an echo, the doctor noticed there was only one artery going to the fetus and one coming from the fetus, were there should be two arteries going to the child.

This condition is called SUA (single umbilical artery).
Since this can lead to some birthdefects, we are worried...

I've been doing some reading on the net and it looks like there is some concern, but a good chance the baby will be perfectly healthy.
Things like Down syndrome and a few other syndroms were checked a while ago and the results were al negative (good).

Any medical pro's on the board who can shed some more light on this SUA condition?
I'd like to try and comfort her a bit because she is worried sick. (BIL works in offshore and is away a lot and for longer periods)

thanks guys

[pavulon]

Would imagine you have seen the below from the March of Dimes website but will offer it up. As for your sister, there is no amount or worry that will produce another umbilical artery. However, there is plenty of damage that can result from worry. She really needs to morph her worry into gratitude for the situation she hoped for!! She is paying the medical professionals to worry so let them.



What is a single umbilical artery?
Single umbilical artery is when one artery in the umbilical cord is missing. It happens in about 1 in 100 singleton pregnancies (1 percent) and about 5 in 100 multiple pregnancies (5 percent). A singleton pregnancy is when you’re pregnant with just one baby. A multiple pregnancy means you’re pregnant with more than one baby (twins, triplets or more). We don’t know what causes single umbilical artery.

About 2 in 10 babies (20 percent) with a single umbilical artery have health problems, including heart, kidney or digestion problems and genetic conditions. Digestion is the process of how your body breaks down food after you eat. A genetic condition is caused by a gene that’s changed from its regular form. A gene can change on its own, or the changed gene can be passed from parents to children.

If an ultrasound shows that you have a single umbilical artery, your provider may recommend checking your baby’s health during pregnancy with these tests:

A detailed ultrasound of your baby
Amniocentesis. In this test, your provider takes some amniotic fluid from around your baby in the uterus (womb). The test checks for birth defects and genetic conditions in your baby. You can get this test at 15 to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Birth defects are health conditions that are present at birth. They change the shape or function of one or more parts of the body. They can cause problems in overall health, in how the body develops or in how the body works.
Echocardiogram. This is a special ultrasound that check’s your baby’s heart.

[livi]

There are a very large number of symptoms and signs during pregnancy, birth and the neonatal period that statistically will increase the risk of desease with the child. The last 25 years as a pediatrician I have seen my fair share of babies with with SUA. As far as I can remember not a single one of them have had any health issues related to that.
Its all statistics of course and there are never any garanties, but unless anything else in the babies condition is cause for consern I would not worry.

[Geronimo '74]

Thanks guys,

that March of dimes site is useful, I'll pass that along to my sister.

She had another thorough check up today and the doc found no reason for concern whatsoever.
So we are reassured.

thnx

[billybek]

Before our son was born, we had what seemed like a hundred ultrasound exams of him in utero. We were older parents and the medical community did what it could to present us with the facts as they interpreted them.
What really helped us was a visit from a geneticist that really outline the probability of issues with the pregnancy.
Everything turned out fine for us.
Hope everything goes as well for your sister and BIL.

[pwd72s]

Good input here by those who are qualified. However, having raised a child, I do have a warning. That is, they do turn into teenagers.

[wildthing]

Worry is #1 enemy during pregnancy, per my wife, who's had 3... 4 if you count the miscarriage.

[wayner]

I like pavulon's suggestion. Its the same thought that I came up with when tangled in a legal dispute and engaged a lawyer, yet I was still stressing until this thought hit me:

My advice is to "delegate the stress"