What causes the umbiblical cord to wrap around child?

Hi,I'm 12 wks- 1st pregnancy-and I do alot of research to keep myself and babies safe,however I do not clearly understand what causes something so tragic as the cord wrapping itself around the fetus. The reason why I ask is because I try my best to sleep on my left side because I understand this is the best position for the child to get proper circulation and for the nutrients to flow from the placenta better.Well at night I tend to toss from side to side and I actually sleep better on my right side-but I change positions because one side gets uncomfortable so I switch.-sometimes as I switch I would get a pain in my left side and it does not feel normal it it sorta makes me a bit paranoid.Another thing that happens is that when I bend like bending to sit and use the restroom I would feel a sharp pain in my left side ( the same as what I feel when I switch over to sleep on a different side) I am so happy that I have a dr. visit on tuesday so that I can be assured that the babies are safe and sound.What are your experiences with sleeping from one side to the other? How do you bend to do tasks such as putting on socks or tying shoes?Also I try not to sleep on my back because I am told that this is not such a good position for circulation.How do you get out of bed or sit up from lying down?

 

As far as I know cord strangulation is just caused by the natural movement of the babies, and there is nothing you can really do to prevent it. Definitely not something that you should be stressing about as far as your movements. I was on my left side most of the time, but definitely spent some time on my right too! I never slept on my back because I couldn't breathe and was just not comfortable.

The sharp pains you are feeling could possibly be the ligaments stretching. I remember that if I moved too quickly, or the 'wrong' way, I would get a sharp pain. To avoid it, I just took it a little slower. It's a good sign, those babies are growing!

As far as socks and shoes...I am in FL and flip flops were my shoe of choice during pregnancy!

:hug:

 

I agree, as far as I understand it, it's totally random and not something you can prevent. It's also not going to be a problem this early in pregnancy because the baby still has plenty of room to move around. Even in late pregnancy, it's mostly an issue during delivery (when the doctors will be very alert to it), not beforehand. (There are other cord problems that can occur before delivery, but again, there's nothing you can do to prevent them.) For instance, one of my DDs apparently had her cord wrapped around her neck and the doctor had to untangle it during my c/s. But it was never a problem in the womb (they monitor blood flow and heart rate to check things like that), and was not even really a danger in delivery because they were watching for it and unwrapped her.

The sharp pain is most likely either ligament pain or (sorry) gas. It's very common at that stage when your uterus is growing so rapidly. You can minimize it by doing things slowly like bending or standing up (and you might bend over if you know you're going to sneeze). But although it's uncomfortable, it doesn't hurt the babies.

My doctor told me that the whole lying-on-the-left-side thing didn't matter until much later in pregnancy. You can sleep in whatever position you want as long as it's comfy for you. When it's no longer comfy, that's when it's time to stop.

Research is good, but try not to worry so much. Get enough rest, drink lots of water, eat healthy food (and lots of calcium and protein), and take some moderate walks if you have the energy -- those are the best things you can do for your babies at this stage.

 

Totally agree with Minette - at this early stage of pregnancy your sleeping position doesn't matter. In fact, I was still sleeping on my stomach until about 15 weeks. Go for whatever is going to get you the most rest possible. When you get a bit bigger, putting a pillow under your stomach might help support it when you sleep on your side.

 

You have no control over if the cord gets wrapped around the baby but I have heard that later in pregnancy like after 5 months you should not lift your arms over your shoulders because it stretches your stomach and could cause the cord to tighten around the neck and cause problems (some very bad). My doctor told me that when I was pregnant with my son. So I kept a step stool in the kitchen and used it when I needed to get something out of the cupboard, I wasn't taking any chances.
As for sleeping I'm pretty sure your still ok to sleep on what ever side you want. Just not your stomach. It's when the baby/babies get bigger that it is better to be on your left side.

 

QUOTE(Minette @ Jan 9 2009, 05:01 PM) [snapback]1140276[/snapback]
I agree, as far as I understand it, it's totally random and not something you can prevent. It's also not going to be a problem this early in pregnancy because the baby still has plenty of room to move around. Even in late pregnancy, it's mostly an issue during delivery (when the doctors will be very alert to it), not beforehand. (There are other cord problems that can occur before delivery, but again, there's nothing you can do to prevent them.) For instance, one of my DDs apparently had her cord wrapped around her neck and the doctor had to untangle it during my c/s. But it was never a problem in the womb (they monitor blood flow and heart rate to check things like that), and was not even really a danger in delivery because they were watching for it and unwrapped her.

The sharp pain is most likely either ligament pain or (sorry) gas. It's very common at that stage when your uterus is growing so rapidly. You can minimize it by doing things slowly like bending or standing up (and you might bend over if you know you're going to sneeze). But although it's uncomfortable, it doesn't hurt the babies.

My doctor told me that the whole lying-on-the-left-side thing didn't matter until much later in pregnancy. You can sleep in whatever position you want as long as it's comfy for you. When it's no longer comfy, that's when it's time to stop.

Research is good, but try not to worry so much. Get enough rest, drink lots of water, eat healthy food (and lots of calcium and protein), and take some moderate walks if you have the energy -- those are the best things you can do for your babies at this stage.


Ditto.

Cord is beyond your control. Even the arms things someone mentioned is an old wives tale and far from being proven as reliable, I raised my arms with both my kids and they are both beside me eating cookies.

Sharp pains just get up/lay down slowly, and lean over if you have to sneeze, cough or anything else that makes a sharp motion. If you do injur it, try to favor that muscle for a day or two, it'll hurt like a bugger every time you re-injure it.

I switch sides during the night, every time I get up to pee I switch to the other side. Even end up on my back some, altho it's nearly impossible to breath now when I do that. You WILL NOT hurt the baby, if you do end up on your back your body will wake you WAY before you injure the baby and force you to switch positions!

Research is good, but try not to worry so much. Get enough rest, drink lots of water, eat healthy food (and lots of calcium and protein), and take some moderate walks if you have the energy -- those are the best things you can do for your babies at this stage. Double ditto this Relax and try to enjoy your pregnancy, this is a huge undertaking and blessing to carry twins!

 

QUOTE(Courtney2 @ Jan 9 2009, 05:14 PM) [snapback]1140291[/snapback]
You have no control over if the cord gets wrapped around the baby but I have heard that later in pregnancy like after 5 months you should not lift your arms over your shoulders because it stretches your stomach and could cause the cord to tighten around the neck and cause problems (some very bad). My doctor told me that when I was pregnant with my son. So I kept a step stool in the kitchen and used it when I needed to get something out of the cupboard, I wasn't taking any chances.
As for sleeping I'm pretty sure your still ok to sleep on what ever side you want. Just not your stomach. It's when the baby/babies get bigger that it is better to be on your left side.

Hello & thank you for your advice.-I actually knew of a young lady back in my hometown,she as a matter of fact was probably 5 mths of pregnancy-well the cord wrapped around her baby's neck and she lost her child-what happened was that she had her arms lifted over her shoulders for a long period of time curling and styling her hair.-I was concerned that about my the tossing and turning=but from the advice that I've been getting I think that it's the ligament stretching.I am happy that I found this forum=Thank you all so much for the reassurance and support.

 

I work on the Mom Baby Unit and the arms over the head is a HUGE MYTH!! Raising your arms and even keeping them raised for hours does NOT hurt the babies! The baby(ies) moving is what causes cord strangulation. It is also very rare, thank God. We do see it sometimes in our Labor/Delivery Unit and those poor moms try to think back to what they did the past week that could have caused it and they are always told the same thing no matter what doctor they see, nothing you as a mom did or does cause cord entaglemnt/knot in the cord/strangulation. The onlt true things you can do to prevent a tragedy is never smoke, drink alcohol, or do drugs. See your doctor, eat healthy, drink a lot of water, take your vitamins and rest. Horrible things can happen at any moment to any of us and any of our kids, but thank God horrible things are very rare and you wont enjoy your pregnancy if you worry about all the "What ifs". Congrats!!!!!!