Umbilical cord in twin pregnancy

Objectives: In multifetal pregnancies abnormalities within the umbilical cord occur much more frequently than in single pregnancy. This may be related to the presence of intra-uterine congestion, which is observed in the case of simultaneous development of a greater number of fetuses. These abnormalities may be responsible, at least in some cases, for high rate of perinatal morbidity and mortality of fetuses and newborns observed in multifetal pregnancies. The aim of research: The aim of this study was to assess the influence of the umbilical cord length and thickness on the course of pregnancy, weight and birth condition of twins. Materials and methods: The study material consisted of 83 afterbirths from twin pregnancies which ended in live births between year 2004 and 2009. In the post-natal analysis, the umbilical cord length and thickness, birth condition of the newborns (according to Apgar scale) as well as birth weight of twins were taken into account. The results obtained were presented in tables. For statistical analysis a statistical package Statistica v. 9.0. was used. Results: The average length of the umbilical cord was 48.9 ± 13.2 cm, that is, in fetus I 48.3 ± 13.2 cm, and in fetus II 49.5 ± 13.3 cm. The length of umbilical cord was changing along with gestational age. So, below 32 week of gestation it measured 35.7 ± 10.3 cm and was significantly smaller than in the cases of gestations between 33-36 weeks and above 37 weeks’ gestation. The average length of the umbilical cord was the lowest in monochorionic monoamniotic pregnancies, and the highest in dichorionic diamniotic with separated placental discs. Moreover, comparing the umbilical cord length in both twins, a statistically significant positive correlation was found. Also, a positive correlation between the length and thickness of umbilical cords and the mass, length and birth condition of the twins was observed. Conclusions: The length and thickness of umbilical cord show positive correlation with the body mass, length and birth condition of the twins. The umbilical cord length and thickness of one fetus in correlation to the other fetus are significantly dependent on each other. The thickness and length of umbilical cord are dependent on gestational age.