Kay

My youngest was born via csection because the cord was wrapped around his neck and his heart rate was dropping. After this happened and I was home with him safe and sound I did some research and found out that many times the baby doesn't make it. There is also an increased chance of it happening again in a future pregnancy. Now I am scared of getting pregnant again for fear this will happen.

Seattle_mom

Was his heart rate dropping because he was decending and having cord traction or tightening? From all the research I did, I came to the conclusion that cord wrapping is normal and doesn't normally cause a problem. Of course, I'm also one that believes heart rate dropping during contractions doesn't not merit a section.

My second was born with the cord around his neck, vaginally, and he was just fine.

Kay

The cord was wrapped around his neck twice and knotted tightly in two places. We did not know this until I was in labor. I was later told that this very often kills the baby, usually before labor even begins. His heart rate didn't just "drop", it vanished a few times. The nurse, who I assume sees such things rather frequently, freaked out. That is what worried me the most. When my water broke at the beginning of labor, there was meconium in it, which was the first sign of a problem. Then as labor progressed he was still up pretty high. My contractions were close and really hard, yet he was still not dropping. As it went on and contractions became stronger his heart rate would drop and then vanish through the contraction. I was still only dilated to a 4 at that time.

I know that many times c-sections are done for frivolous reasons, but I truly believe that my son would have died had labor progressed naturally with the situation we were in.

babymama

There is definitely a range in cord issues ranging from just getting hooked around the front or back of the throat to completely tangled and causing definite harm. I can see where yuo would be a bit worried about having another, but as long as you remember such things you are better off than this pregnancy and not knowing.

FingerInEar

The knots in the cord would have been the problem, not the fact it was around the neck. It is really common for the cord to be around the neck at birth-something like a third of all live births in fact.

Tara

Cord around the neck is fairly common, it is usually not a problem, but it can be serious, same with a knot in the cord.
Knots are usually more serious because if they tighten they can totally cut off the babies lifeline.
But I was at a birth where the baby was born vaginally with a knot in the cord. The knot was loose and didn't cause any problems. So not all knots are bad!

The important thing to remember Kay is that they found out about your baby's cord and everything worked out OK. It doesn't do any good to worry about the bad things that might have happened but didn't!