FETO-MATERNAL OUTCOME OF ANTE-NATAL CARE PATIENTS WITH CORD AROUND THE NECK FINDING IN TERM PREGNANCY

Umbilical cord may sometimes surround the fetal neck, often detected during routine ultrasonography or delivery. The cord around neckmay untwines spontaneously, however, the continued presence of cord loops around neck affects the fetal outcome.

Objectives: To study the incidence of cord around the neck finding (nuchal cord)and feto-maternal outcome.

Methodology: The retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital of Central India. During the study period of 18 months, out of 1672deliveries, 470 deliveries had nuchal cord. The relevant data was extracted from the hospital records.

Results: At the time of delivery, nuchal cord incidence was 28.1%. Out of 470 deliveries, 273 underwent LSCS with fetal distress possibly due to oligohydramnios as their prime indication. Low birth weight was seen among 26.8% newborns. 8.7 % newborns were admitted in NICU. However, no perinatal mortality was reported.

Conclusion: Presence of nuchal cord at the time of delivery is quite common. One must rely on clinical skills for pre-delivery diagnosis of nuchal cord, especially in rural and peri-urban areas,where last-trimester USG reports are not available. The nuchal cord when accompanied by oligohydramniosdoes interfereduringlabour, and the outcome of delivery with respect to fetal distress.