Cord Blood Stem Cells Information

How common is this?

I don't want to scare anyone, but I want to know how common it is for a baby to have the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck? My sister's baby was just stillborn on Saturday. The baby appeared to be perfectly healthy but the cord was wrapped around her neck four times! My sister said that the baby was constantly turning, even in the last day or two. She went to the Dr. Thursday and the heartbeat and everything was fine. She went into labor Friday and went to the hospital Friday night. When the nurses hooked her up to fetal monitors, they couldn't find a heartbeat. They did 4 sonograms and found no signs of life. They induced to speed up the labor on Saturday morning and she delivered about 12:30, but the baby was gone. Of course, we are all devastated. I am pregnant myself, and it has made me a little nervous. Any one know how common this problem is? Thank you for your help.

Public Comments

God I hope it's not common at all. That really upsets me. I'm going in for a prenatal today and I'm gonna ask them to look for me. I send your sister condolences on the loss of her baby. How sad that must be...
it's not as common as regular births or premies but it happens from time to time
Not uncommon; my daughter was saved, same thing. Do what your doctor says, sleep on your left side. He'll explain.
Focus and think of good health. How often something happens does not matter. You and yours will be healthy and safe.
i would say that it is pretty common. my brother had the same problem when he was born and the only problem with it was that my mother had to have a c-section done. there are some risks to it though, sometimes there is a risk of the baby dieing by chocking obviously. But with the right treatment with ur doctors and stuff- everything will sure be fine. just remember that ur sister and family arnt the only ones to have faced this problem.
I am so sorry for the loss of your sisters baby. I know that plenty of babies have their cords wrapped around their necks when they are born but it usually doesn't cause death. Most likely when she went into labor the contractions may have pulled on the cord cutting off the oxygen off. I think that it happens but it is probably pretty rare. Try not to worry too much, I am sure that your baby will be just fine.
not all that common (a still birth that is). my daughter had the cord wrapped around her neck but was delivered naturally & is perfectly perfect. when baby is turning i was told to rub your tummy to settle her down & try to comfort her. she did stop. relax and enjoy your pregnancy.
first of let me say I'm very sorry!!! as for your question i dont know the statistics but mine was wrapped around my neck. my mother had a c-section. i'm sure you'll be fine. what happened to your sister is not common its just a tragic thing that happened and i'm sorry for your loss lots of babies have the cord around their neck most of the time doctors can untangle it they usually do a c-section if that's the case congrats to you and dont worry i'm sure you will be fine
My neighbor had it happen to her. She is very tall and has carried very small babies. The logic that was given to her was because she has so much more room to accommodate a baby, and the baby was small - there was just too much room really and the baby strangled herself with the cord. She had a baby girl 2 years ago and when they noticed a decreased heart rate they immediately did a c-section (at like 33-34 weeks if I remember) because they didnt want her to lose another one. I dont know how common it is overall, but I have heard of it before. I am very sorry for your family's loss and wish you the absolute best for a healthy baby and delivery.
I am sorry to hear about your sisters loss. ok not to scare anyone but this is pretty common, almost at 25%, I'm trained to deliver babies and when the head comes out they teach us how to take the cord off, alot of times the mom might not even know about it, especially if baby is born quickly. medically it's called a Nuchal Cord.. it's not as common for it to cause the death of the baby. out of my 4 pregnancies I had 2 with cords around the neck, one of them had it wrapped twice, both were ok, the one with the cord wrapped twice needed a little oxygen. It's so hard not to worry about things that can go wrong. Here is a little more info on Nuchal Cord. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec22/ch261/ch261c.html
My youngest daughter was born with her cord wrapped round her neck twice and she was perfectly fine. She was a bit blue in the face for a few days, but it passed.
I am so sorry for your sister's loss, and the family. The cord being around the neck happens more often then we think. A couple of my children were born with their cord around the neck. You have to remember that there are several ways that the cord can be wrapped around the body, and many babies are born just fine. Unfortunately, your sister's baby died, but if the baby is in any distress because of the cord, the monitors will pick that up in the hospital, and that is why so many babies are born ok. Try not to worry about your baby, you could kill yourself thinking about this during the entire pregnancy. Right now your sister needs your support.
My friend's first child was still born and the cord was wrapped around her neck 3 times. Her placenta also ages quickly so they aren't really sure what actually affected the baby more. My aunt's first son was born with the cord wrapped around his neck twice but was delivered by C-Section and is fine now...Well fine for a 13 year old boy LOL. BTW, My friend was also 42 weeks and had went in to see the Dr at 37 weeks in labor and they gave her something to stop the labor and sent her home the next day.
I was born with it wrapped around my neck but, I don't no how common of a problem this is maybe you should talk to your doctor he could explain more.sorry about your sister that is sad.Hope everything is good for you.good luck!
First of all - I'm so sorry your family, especially your sister, had to go through this. I can't imagine the devastation. Please stay strong for your own baby's well being! The chances of a cord wrapped around the babies neck once is like 20%, but usually doesn't pose too much of a risk. The chance of it wrapping around twice is 2 in 1000 cases (only 0.2%). So, you can see how EXTREMELY rare it is for the cord to wrap around a whopping 4 times. I can't believe this happened. If only they'd done an ultrasound on Thursday, they might have seen the cord around the baby's neck and maybe been able to do something. Again, I am so sorry. No one should ever have to experience this kind of thing. And, like I said, please stay strong and positive for youself and your baby. Good luck!
This is a fear of mine also, because i am pregnant too. My mother almost lost me when she was having me, because my cord was wrapped around my neck. The doctors told her if they would have waited about an hr later, i would have died. That is the scariest thing for me, to think about that my baby might do that. Im hoping that its not very common, but im sorry to hear about your sisters child, and i hope the best of luck to you and your unborn child.
I was the same and my mom had a c-section so as not to do more harm to me. It's fairly common and some times they can unwrap as the baby is born. I haven't had any problems with my two. Please pass on my best wishes to your sister and try and relax yourself.
My deepest sympathy for your sister and family. This will be a very difficult time for everyone. My son was also stillborn in 2004 due to the cord around his neck. I was 38 weeks when I lost him. You being nervous being pregnant yourself is understandable. I too am now 19 weeks pregnant. I worry on a daily basis. I know I will always be worried until the day my baby is born. But you have to try not to drive yourself nuts over it. After all of the information I have gathered over the last few years about this I have found that because a cord is around the baby's neck doesn't mean something will go wrong. I wish you the best with your pregnancy