Umbilical Cord Abnormalities in Cases of Stillbirth

Background: Stillbirth has a great detrimental impact on the overall maternal health as well as the society. To prevent such adverse pregnancy outcomes, every effort should be made to find their cause. The umbilical cord plays a central role in maintaining the health of the developing fetus, and its abnormality has been implicated in causing stillbirths. However, no definite diagnostic criterion on umbilical cord abnormalities leading to stillbirth has been developed. Thus, this study was planned to understand the umbilical cord abnormalities in cases of stillbirth, so that such adverse outcomes can be prevented in subsequent pregnancies. Methodology: A descriptive study was conducted on 42 women, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow; over a period of 18 months after taking informed consent. A detailed questionnaire was used to collect data from study participants and their umbilical cords were examined for their dimensions, gross appearance and any abnormalities. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23.0 for Windows. Results: Out of 42 women in our study, majority were primigravida (40.5%) with mean maternal age of 28.38+/- 4.9years. Among 42 study participants, 41 (97.6%) had no antenatal checkups, 14 (33.3%) of them had associated comorbidities of which preeclampsia was most common (26.2%). The umbilical cord length was maximum in the gestational age group of 31-35weeks i.e. 41.27cm (SD- 21.48cm). Out of 42 women with stillbirth 38 (90.5cm) had normal appearing, centrally placed umbilical cord and mean placental thickness was 4.61+/-2.01cm at term. Conclusion: In our study, it could be concluded that umbilical cord abnormalities may not be directly linked to the cause of stillbirth as most of the stillbirth women have normal-appearing umbilical cords. However, detailed histopathological examination and comparative studies are necessary for finding a definite association between them.