The umbilical cord, that precious link from Mother to unborn baby, seems to carry not only nutrients and oxygen-rich blood, but hopes and dreams. When that connection fails, dreams are dashed. With vasa previa, a rare condition where the vessels of the cord grow on its exterior, the results are usually fatal – unless a Cesarean section is performed.

In cases of vasa previa, the blood vessels run through the umbilical cord for some distance, then grow out of the cord and into the placenta. Without the tough fibrous cord, these fragile blood vessels have minimal support, with the only real support being the fetal membranes, or bag of waters.

The stress of labor and the bursting of the water sac often causes the vessels to tear. This results in the rapid death of the baby from blood loss. The mortality rate from undetected vasa previa is high, from 50 percent to 90 percent.

Little is known about what makes the vessels grow out of the cord. One reason may be that the nutrients in the bottom of the placenta are not as rich as the nutrients in the top of the placenta. The vessels may grow toward the better nutrition, just as a plant grows toward the sun.

Though no one knows exactly what causes vasa previa, there are some factors women should be aware of that place them at greater risk for developing the condition:

• Women with low-lying placentas (near or over the cervix)
• Multiple pregnancies
• Pregnancies resulting from in vitro fertilization
• Bi-lobed placentas (the placenta consists of more than the usual single piece)

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