What are the dangers of a single umbilical artery in the fetus?

I believe that many mothers do not know what the symptom of single umbilical artery in the fetus is, nor do they know its cause, so mothers should learn more about related treatments and increase their understanding of parenting knowledge. The symptoms of single umbilical artery in the fetus are mainly due to deformities in the baby after birth, which can easily cause serious diseases such as Down syndrome and congenital heart disease. I hope mothers can pay attention to it.

Are there any problems after birth for babies with single umbilical artery?

It depends on the situation.

If there is only a single umbilical artery, and other fetal anomaly screening tests during pregnancy, including color Doppler ultrasound, cardiac color Doppler ultrasound, and chromosome examination, are normal and no other developmental abnormalities are found, then the fetus will be normal after birth and no different from other children.

If a single umbilical artery is found and the examination also reveals that the fetus has multiple or severe malformations, the fetus will have problems after birth, such as congenital heart disease or Down syndrome.

What are the risks to a fetus with a single umbilical artery?

A single umbilical artery will interfere with the blood supply to the developing embryo, and is likely to cause developmental abnormalities in the fetal central nervous system, cardiovascular system, urogenital system, gastrointestinal system, skeletal system, and abdominal wall. Such fetuses will have an increased chance of suffering from congenital heart disease, urinary malformations, etc., and are more likely to be born prematurely and have low birth weight.

In addition, single umbilical artery is indirectly related to chromosomal abnormalities, and the fetus is very likely to have abnormalities of chromosomes 18, 13, and 21.

How to prevent fetal problems with single umbilical artery

Single umbilical artery development cannot be prevented, and therefore, problems in the fetus cannot be prevented. However, expectant mothers can identify or eliminate problems through prenatal checkups and give birth to healthier babies.

A single umbilical artery does not necessarily mean that there is a problem with the fetus. During pregnancy, expectant mothers can understand the development of the fetus in a timely manner through various fetal anomaly screening tests and make the most appropriate choice. For example, if the test results are normal, then the pregnancy is normal. If the examination reveals that the fetus has other serious malformations, such as Down syndrome, trisomy 18, trisomy 13, etc., termination of pregnancy is recommended.