Please send us P&PT - SUA

EvesMom wrote: I went for my 20week(even though I'm 21 and a half weeks) ultrasound today, and was diagnosed with Single Umbilical Artery. Normally the umbilical cord has 2 arteries and 1 vein.

For those who don't know what any of this means, I looked it up to see what I'm up against:

Anywhere from half to two-thirds of babies born with single artery umbilical cord are born healthy and with no chromosomal or congenital abnormalities. Of the remaining babies with SUA, approximately 30% will be born with some type of congenital anomaly, such as trisomy 13 or trisomy 18. However, the most common pregnancy complications that occur in infants with SUA are heart defects, gastrointestinal tract abnormalities and problems with the central nervous system. The respiratory system, urinary tract, and musculoskeletal system may also be affected. One in five babies affected by SUA will be born with multiple malformations.
Aside from these problems, between 15% and 20% of infants with SUA may suffer from intrauterine growth retardation. Single umbilical artery also has an increased miscarriage rate of 22% associated with it, likely due to the increased abnormalities. Furthermore, there is an association between SUA and low birthweight (<2500g) and early delivery (<37 weeks).


I'm so freaked out and depressed. The doctor said not to worry too much because everything looks beautiful at this point. On Jan 31st I have to go back to the hospital for a fetal ecocardiogram. I'm considering getting an amnio done to check for chromosomal defects. (I had the quad screening done and it came back ok, but I'm scared as hell at this point)
Please pray for us.

gr33n3y3z replied:
I dont know what to say but this
If the Dr says everything looks good I guess you can go by your Dr
saying prayers

CantWait replied: Many P&PTs sweetie
Keep you chin up, your doctor seems very optimistic at this point.

hopefulmomtobe replied: My prayers and thought are with you. Did you talk to the doctor about getting the amnio done? I think I would to rest at ease knowing what exactly is going on.

Thinking of you....

skinkybaby replied:

jcc64 replied: Boy, that's alot to digest. I'm sure things will be fine, but I think I'd go for the amnio for peace of mind.

BAC'sMom replied:

boyohboyohboy replied: prayers and thoughts coming your way. I think its a good sign that the dr was so positive. Keep thinking positive thoughts

PrairieMom replied:

luvbug00 replied:

MotherForever2043 replied: My prayers and thoughts are with you! I know it might be hard, but try and stay as positive as you can! I am getting a amnio done on Tuesday. I suggest that you have it done. It might put your mind at ease.

EvesMom replied:
I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you having an amnio done because of a suspected problem, or just your own peace of mind?

EvesMom replied: Thank you all for your support I'm really grateful for your P&PT. I'll keep you all posted.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: Sending lots of Prayers and Positive Thoughts your way! Try not to worry!

BabyOwen427 replied: You are sooooo lucky to know ahead of time. I had an ultrasound at 16 weeks and that early you can't tell anything about the umbilical cord. My son had SUA and it wasn't until he was born that we knew anything. I never went into labor and had to be induced and he wasn't recovering from the contractions so I had an emergency c-section. I later found out that if my doc had ordered an ultrasound at a later date then she would have found the SUA and precautions would have been taken. As it were the complications I had in labor were due to SUA. I have since done some research and learned that I should have never had pitocin because it increases the intensity of the contractions to the point that the baby can't handle them. My son was two weeks late and that was a good thing. He was 6lbs 13oz at birth. I believe my body never went into labor because it knew that something just wasn't right with my baby and wanted it to cook as long as possible.
I would suggest not getting the amniocentesis because the risk of miscarriage is just not worth the info, I mean, you are going to keep your baby whether it has a birth defect or not right? I would strongly recomment that you eat as healthy as possible, don't take any meds not even for headaches or allergies, and make sure to take your prenatal. Give all you can to your baby. Rest a lot. If you want to talk about this feel free to pm me anytime. Relax there is no reason to stress out about this I promise.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
I wholeheartedly agree with this. Whatever you may or may not find out from getting an amnio isn't going to change anything - and in fact if the results came back falsely positive for something you would just have another thing to worry about. Peace of mind is nice, but it's not worth risking your baby's life.

It sounds like a scary thing to deal with, but I'd take comfort in the fact that your doctor thinks everything looks good so far. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers!

EvesMom replied: I was considering the amnio because I want to be as best prepaired for what's to come as possible. But, now that I think about it, the u/s showed no signs of malformations of any kind associated with Trisomy 13 or 18. Reguardless of anything, this is my child and will be no matter what. But god forbid he had trisomy 13, I'd want to know about it to prepare myself for the heart ache (babies that are born live with trisomy 13 rarely live more than a few hours).
But again there are no signs at this point that there are any "problems". I need to stay optimistic. My biggest concerns at this point are miscarriage, IUGR, still birth, and Preterm labor.

Thank you all for your continued support.

DH and I really got to decide on a name for this kid

3xsthefun replied: You will be in my thoughts.

paradisemommy replied: i was diagnosed with this with my daughter and although i freaked out quite a bit after i was told, my obgyn kept reassuring me that more than likely everything was fine and it was. i carried my daughter to term, had another c-section (due to reasons other than the sua), oh and i breastfed my son throughout her pregnancy, and she came out 8 lbs. 1 oz. so i would just go of your doctor's cues..if he/she's saying baby looks great then just relax and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy and if you wanna ever talk, feel free to pm me

A&A'smommy replied: LOTS of P&PT'S for you and your little one!!!