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Dr. Marjorie Greenfield
Specializing in pregnancy and birth.
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A Broken Umbilical Cord
QUESTION
Dear Dr. Greenfield,
When my daughter was born the cord broke. I don't know whether it broke during or after delivery. The doctors and nurses thought it was strange. Is this something rare that happens? Was it something I had done wrong while I was pregnant with her? She seems to be OK. They never did talk to me about it at the hospital.

— curious mom in south jersey

ANSWER
April 11, 2002
Dear Curious Mom,
I always feel bad when someone is worrying about something that she should have gotten reassurance about at the time of the event. Here is some information that should help.

There are really only two ways for it to appear that the umbilical cord has broken. One is that the doctor or midwife delivering the baby pulled on the cord during the birth, which can happen during the untangling process if the cord is wrapped tightly around the baby's neck or body during birth. The other is if after clamping and cutting the cord, the clamp that was on the baby's side gets loose. In both cases, the baby loses some blood as the healthcare team gets the cord pinched off.

There is no way that anything you did led to the cord breaking. I have seen it happen a couple of times, never with any lasting effects on the baby. I hope that this answered your questions. If you want to hear exactly what happened when your baby was born, try asking your doctor at your next appointment.
Take care.

— by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D.

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