A Severed Connection

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.

Content on this site is not a substitute for professional medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment, and may not be used for such purposes. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical question or condition. Reliance on information presented on this site is at your own risk. This site contains the opinions and views of other users. Given the interactive nature of this site, we cannot endorse, guarantee, or be responsible for the accuracy, efficacy, or veracity of any content generated by our users.