THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UMBILICAL CORD LENGTH AND FETAL BIRTH WEIGHT

Abstract

Perinatal morbidity and mortality rank among the major health challenges worldwide.
This underscores the urgent need to eradicate or at least reduce to the barest minimum
this menace in consonance with the fourth aim and objective of the millennium
development goal. In the literature review, fetal outcome is influenced by umbilical
cord length, fetal birth weight, maternal parity, fetal gestational age, placental weight,
fetal gender, maternal medical and nutritional status, drugs, radiation, infective
processes, maternal motivation and attitude to health care services, events that occur
during the intrapartum and immediate postpartum periods.

The objective of this study is to have an in-depth understanding of the interplay of the
umbilical cord length as the outcome variable with birth weight, maternal age, gender,
parity, gestational age and placental weight as independent variables. The specific
objective is to determine the independent association between the umbilical cord length
and birth weight, gender, gestational age, maternal parity, maternal age and placental
weight.

The rationale of this study is to deduce a condition that will predict a fetus that may
require intensive care if there is a threat on good fetal outcome in view of the interplay
between these given independent variables. Also to find out if there will be need for
further researches in this direction to stimulate proactive approaches to fetal
management.

This study was carried out in a tertiary institution: the university of Port Harcourt
Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt on paturients who did not have medical conditions
like hypertensive diseases, diabetes mellitus, Human immunodeficiency virus I & II
(HIV I & II ), prematurity, post term pregnancies, and multiple gestation as these
conditions are known to independently alter birth weight and affect fetal wellbeing.
Subjects that met the conditions were recruited and their bio-data collected. The
umbilical cord length was measured with sterile calibrated tape. The birth weight,
placental weight and the Apgar scores of the babies were recorded and all the necessary
routine procedures for successful and safe delivery were observed and carried out.

The main findings using logistic regression showed that low birth weight babies were
about ten times less likely to have a long umbilical cord compared to babies that were
normal or overweight, (OR = 0.o91; 95% CI = 0.009 – 0.881). The corollary is that the
low birth weight babies are likely to be more prone to having short umbilical cord
compared to normal weight babies.

This information is useful. It cautions the clinician to take more proactive measures in
the care of all pregnancies whether the pregnancy will result in low birth weight,
normal birth weight or overweight babies as they are all prone to variations in their
umbilical cord length and the resultant complications of abnormal umbilical cord
length. While the low birth weight babies are more prone to the risks associated with
short umbilical cord, the normal and over weight babies are more prone to the risks
associated with long umbilical cord.
In conclusion, the umbilical cord length has a significant association with the fetal birth
weight compared to the other independent variables

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UMBILICAL CORD LENGTH AND FETAL BIRTH WEIGHT