Can umbilical cord knots be detected by ultrasound?

After a pregnant woman becomes pregnant, the fetus will develop in the mother's body. Many people know that the condition of the fetus in the pregnant woman's belly can be seen through B-ultrasound examination, so many people think that umbilical cord knotting can also be seen through B-ultrasound. In fact, what B-ultrasound can see is very limited. B-ultrasound cannot show umbilical cord knots. This article will explain in detail the issues related to umbilical cord knotting.

Can umbilical cord knots be detected by B-ultrasound?

Can't tell.

During pregnancy, B-ultrasound can be used to check whether there are umbilical cord pressure marks on the fetus's body. Sometimes, even the number of weeks the umbilical cord is wrapped can be seen, but it cannot tell whether the fetus's umbilical cord is knotted.

Although it cannot be seen by normal B-ultrasound, 3D B-ultrasound can accurately distinguish the direction of the fetal umbilical cord in the uterine cavity and its relationship with the fetus, and has a certain accuracy rate in diagnosing umbilical cord knots. However, the coverage rate of county-level hospitals is low, so the prenatal diagnosis rate of true umbilical cord knot is low.

What causes umbilical cord knotting?

Umbilical cord knots are divided into true knots and false knots. The causes of the diseases are different, as follows:

A true umbilical cord knot is usually caused by the fetal umbilical cord being too long, forming a loop in the uterine cavity, and the fetus moving through the loop.

There are two reasons for the formation of a false knot in the fetal umbilical cord. One is that the umbilical blood vessels are longer than the fetal umbilical cord and the blood vessels are curled like a knot. Second, the umbilical vein is longer than the umbilical artery and is coiled and knot-like.

Effects of umbilical cord knotting on the fetus

Fetal umbilical cord pseudoknot generally has no symptoms in clinical medicine, does not cause serious harm to the fetus, and rarely causes bleeding due to blood vessel rupture.

The impact of a true umbilical cord knot on the fetus depends on the situation. To be honest, after the knot is formed, it will not affect the fetus as long as it is not tightened. If the knot is tightened, it will affect the blood circulation of the fetus, causing fetal maldevelopment or fetal death in the uterine cavity.

What to do if the umbilical cord is knotted

If the umbilical cord knot does not affect the fetal blood circulation, that is, the fetus does not have symptoms of insufficient oxygen or abnormal fetal heart monitoring, then there is no need to solve it.

If the umbilical cord knot blocks the fetal blood circulation and fetal distress occurs, the fetus should be delivered as soon as possible.

The article explains in detail the issues related to umbilical cord knotting. As a pregnant woman, you'd better read the content of this article carefully to understand that umbilical cord knotting cannot be detected by ultrasound, and also understand the harm of umbilical cord knotting to the baby and how to deal with it calmly. In this way, pregnant women can better create their own babies.