Abstract
In a study of 2500 consecutive births at the Women's Pavilion, Winnipeg General Hospital, a single umbilical artery was found to be present in 0.2% of all births. This is considerably less than the incidence of 1% of all births quoted in the literature. We believe the lower figure more representative of the true incidence. The association of a single umbilical artery with multiple congenital malformations is confirmed, and in addition there appears to be a significant association of late maternal age and low birth weight in the group in which a single umbilical artery was found. The finding of a single umbilical artery in three of six cases of autosomal trisomy is noted. Routine examination of the cord in all births is indicated, and the presence of a single umbilical artery should alert the physician to the possibility of the presence of congenital malformation which may not be clinically evident on ordinary examination of the newborn infant.
Full text
PDFSelected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- BENIRSCHKE K., BROWN W. H. A vascular anomaly of the umbilical cord; the absence of one umbilical artery in the umbilical cords of normal and abnormal fetuses. Obstet Gynecol. 1955 Oct;6(4):399–404. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- FAIERMAN E. The significance of one umbilical artery. Arch Dis Child. 1960 Jun;35:285–288. doi: 10.1136/adc.35.181.285. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- HENDRY D. W., KOHLER H. G. Sirenomelia (merimaid). J Obstet Gynaecol Br Emp. 1956 Dec;63(6):865–870. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1956.tb05575.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- MITCHELL J. R., HOGG G., DEPAPE A. J., BRIGGS E. J., MEDOVY H. An analysis of the causes of perinatal death. Can Med Assoc J. 1959 May 15;80(10):796–799. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- NEEL J. V. A study of major congenital defects in Japanese infants. Am J Hum Genet. 1958 Dec;10(4):398–445. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]