07/10/2022
Nope 👇
Some facts about nuchal cords:
🔆 Nuchal cords are incredibly common, occurring in an estimated 1 of 3 births.
🔆 They are very rarely dangerous.
🔆 Fetuses receive oxygen through the umbilical cord, not by breathing through the mouth or nose, so a cord around the neck is not cutting off their air like it would for you or me. If the cord is left in tact, the baby can still be receiving oxygen from the placenta for several minutes after birth.
🔆 Most babies with a nuchal cord have one that is very loose and it can be simply slipped over the head after birth. There is usually no indication of the nuchal cord at all.
🔆 The main way for a nuchal cord to be harmful (if the cord is healthy) is if it is wrapped multiple times and is so tight that it compresses itself, thereby decreasing blood flow inside, or if there is a true knot so tight that it does the same (rare). The cord would have to be extremely tight to cut off blood flow between the body and brain.
🔆 Nuchal cord is very difficult to identify before birth, even with ultrasound.
🔆 You do not need to have a c-section solely due to a suspected nuchal cord.
🔆 Medications given during a birth induction/augmentation can cause erratic & extra strong contractions, causing heart decelerations in the fetus. If a c-section is performed and a nuchal cord is discovered, it is frequently blamed (though the cause was more likely the induction meds). This can lead the mother to feel her baby was "saved" by the hospital staff, when they may have actually been the ones to CAUSE the issues the baby was "saved" from.
🔆 A healthy umbilical cord is filled with a gelatinous substance called Wharton's Jelly that protects the cord vessels as a fetus twists and turns its way inside the uterus.
If you want to read up on the evidence on nuchal cord, visit my Instagram account () and scroll back to my post of that name.
