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Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate the placental characteristics in spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence., Material and Methods: A retrospective case-control study of spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and normal monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies was performed. The primary outcome was placental characteristics., Results: The prevalence of artery-artery anastomoses in spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence and twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome groups was significantly lower than in the normal monochorionic diamniotic twin group (40.0% vs 33.3% vs 88.8%, respectively, P < .001). The total number of vascular anastomoses in the spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence group (with range given in parentheses) was significantly lower than in the two control groups (3 [1-6] vs 5 [1-14] vs 6 [1-20], P = .001/<.001/.794). The number of artery-vein anastomoses in the spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence was significantly lower than in the two control groups (2 [1-5] vs 4 [1-13] vs 5 [1-19], P = .011/.001/1.000). The total diameter of all vascular anastomoses was significantly smaller in the spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence than in the two control groups (0.9 mm [0.3-4.7] vs 5.2 mm [0.8-24.6] vs 7.3 mm [1.0-25.1], P < .001/<.001/.104), as was the total diameter of artery-to-artery anastomoses (0.5 mm [0.3-1.3] vs 2.0 mm [0.5-11.8] vs 2.3 mm [0.7-9.7], P = .003/<.001/1.000) and the total diameter of artery-to-vein anastomoses (0.8 mm [0.3-2.1] vs 4.6 mm [0.8-15.3] vs 4.0 mm [0.2-21.8], P < .001/<.001/1.000). The ratio between the distance of the two umbilical cords insertion points and the placental maximum diameter in the spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence group was significantly larger than in the two control groups (0.78 [0.49-0.99] vs 0.64 [0.32-1.00] vs 0.55 [0.05-1.00], P = .033/<.001/.138)., Conclusions: In spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence placentas, the number of superficial vascular anastomoses is lower, their diameter is smaller and the distance between the two umbilical cord insertion points is longer., (© 2020 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.)

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the capacity of the cross-sectional area and diameter of the umbilical cord, and the area of Wharton's jelly (WJ), to predict abnormalities in estimated fetal weight (EFW) in 20-40 week, low-risk pregnancies., Methods: A validation study was performed in 1,828 pregnant women. Fetal weight was estimated by ultrasonography and classified as: small for gestational age (SGA), appropriate for gestational age (AGA) or large for gestational age (LGA) according to the 10th and 90th percentiles of the reference curve. Measurements of the parameters of the cord were used to classify it as thin, normal or thick using the 10th and 90th percentiles of the reference curves as limits. The capacity of the diameter and total area of the cord and the area of WJ to predict abnormal EFW was calculated for different gestational ages., Results: The capacity of the diameter of thin cords to predict SGA fetuses (S =8.3%, PPV =16.5%) or thick cords to predict LGA fetuses (S =5.5%, PPV =30.1) was weak, similar to the capacity of the area of the umbilical cord to predict SGA (S =8.3%; PPV =16.3%) or LGA fetuses (S =5.5%; PPV =27.8%). The capacity of the area of WJ to predict SGA fetuses (S =5.7%, PPV =11.7%) was similar to its capacity to predict LGA fetuses (S =4%, PPV =27.1%)., Conclusion: Despite the correlation between the diameter and cross-sectional area of the cord and EFW, these measurements were not found to be useful in predicting alterations in EFW and should not be used for this purpose.

The purpose of this study was to examine if a short umbilical cord might give rise to fetal distress of such a severity that would necessitate operative delivery. Review of the literature gave little clarification. Out of a database consisting of 7212 births, 5885 were included in the study according to pre-set criteria. The incidence of operative delivery was then compared with cord length. A significantly higher incidence of forceps deliveries and vacuum extractions was found when cord length was less than 40 cm. The incidence of cesarean section was also higher for the shorter cords. There was no increased need for neonatal resuscitation for the babies with the shortest cords.

It seems to be a widely held notion that the uterine cavity is larger during a woman's later pregnancies than during her first pregnancy. The direct evidence for this is, however, scarce. The umbilical cord length at term is one measure of the fetal intrauterine mobility, and therefore indirectly of the space in which the fetus moves. If the uterine cavity is larger during later pregnancies, the cord length of the babies in these pregnancies should be longer. We have compared the cord lengths of 1839 babies, divided into three groups: babies born of primiparous, secundiparous and tertiparous women. The difference in mean cord length is statistically significant between the first and the third group. This supports the theory of a larger intra-uterine space in later pregnancies. We also examined 159 mothers, measuring the umbilical cord length of their first and second babies. A significant positive correlation was found, in that the first baby tended to have the shorter cord. A control group with matching, but unrelated babies showed no such correlation. The results seem to us to support the stated theory further.