What is the medical term for a umbilical cord that doesnt have enough vessels, only two as opposed to three?

Question

my friend is about 23 weeks pregnant. Her baby has only two major blood vessels in his umbilical cord. There are supposed to be three, I believe. I need to find the medical term for this condition if I want to find information online for her.

Answer 1

Here is what i found, it is called single umbilical artery. just be careful about reading too much on what can go wrong in anyway when it comes to health it tends to freak. there is a lof of scary information out there that doesn't nessecarily apply good luck to your friend

What is single umbilical artery?
About 1 percent of singleton and about 5 percent of multiple pregnancies have an umbilical cord that contains only two blood vessels, instead of the normal three, as one artery is missing. The cause of this abnormality is unknown. If an ultrasound examination shows that the baby appears to have no other abnormalities, the baby is likely to be born healthy.

However, studies suggest that about 25 percent of babies with single umbilical artery have birth defects, including chromosomal and/or other abnormalities. A woman whose baby is diagnosed with single umbilical artery during an ultrasound examination may be offered prenatal testing using ultrasound evaluation of the fetal heart and amniocentesis to diagnose or rule out chromosomal abnormalities. Even if the baby does not appear to have birth defects, the pregnant woman will probably be monitored carefully for the remainder of the pregnancy because of a somewhat increased risk of poor fetal growth, preterm delivery and stillbirth.

Answer 2

http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_4546.asp


Good Luck~