Anatomical Pattern of Placenta and Umbilical Cord in Relation to Fetal Adverse Outcome: A Hospital Based Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The highly specialized organs of pregnancy, the placenta and umbilical cord, aid in the healthy growth and development of the foetus. Any change in the umbilical cord’s length, entanglement, nuchal cord, knots, thickness, insertion, and total number of umbilical blood vessels, as well as the placental appearance, location, weight, thickness, and circumference, could have a negative impact on the fetus’s health and affect factors like birth weight, Apgar score, and condition. It is common practice not to inspect the placenta and umbilical cord’s gross anatomy. Objective: The goal of the study was to ascertain the placenta’s and the umbilical cord’s morphological patterns in connection to unfavorable foetal outcomes at a Medical College hospital in Central India. Methodology: A quantitative cross-sectional research with pregnant patients hospitalized to the labour and delivery ward was conducted. To gather the sample size of 300 term singleton pregnant females lacking any co-morbidities, simple random sampling procedure was used. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire, an ultrasound machine equipped with a colour Doppler system, and SPSS version 21 for data entry and analysis. Result: The study’s mean age was 25.47, and the median age was 23.03±7.019, with the majority of participants being between the ages of 21 and 30. The foetal status was substantially correlated with BMI, cord entanglement, and cord length (P<0.05). Additionally, it was discovered that the Apgar score was substantially correlated (P<0.05) with BMI, placental appearance, cord entanglement, and cord length. Additionally, there was a significant BMI, parity, cotyledon number, placental shape, and placental circumference correlation (P<0.05) with birth weight. Conclusion: According to a study, defects of the placenta’s and the umbilical cord’s gross anatomical pattern significantly affect the outcomes of the foetus. Hence, the best results will come from combined efforts to avoid stillbirth, low Apgar scores, and abnormal birth weight prior to and throughout pregnancy, as well as from efficient monitoring measures during pregnancy.