Can I walk for an hour after meals if the umbilical cord is wrapped around the neck?

Written by Du Rui Xia
Obstetrics
Updated on September 19, 2024
00:00
00:00

In cases where there is umbilical cord entanglement around the neck, as long as the baby's fetal heart rate and fetal movement checks are normal, the mother can normally go for a walk after meals. This condition will not affect the fetus. It is important to regularly visit the hospital for fetal heart monitoring and prenatal examinations, pay attention to observing changes in fetal movement inside the womb, and avoid doing overly heavy or intense exercises. If any abnormalities in fetal movement or heart rate are observed, it is necessary to go to the hospital for examination. When needed, oxygen intake and treatments to preserve the pregnancy might be required.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Du Rui Xia
Obstetrics
52sec home-news-image

Does umbilical cord around the neck require a B-ultrasound recheck?

When there is a situation of umbilical cord around the neck, pregnant women need to regularly visit the hospital for an ultrasound checkup to understand the condition of the umbilical cord entanglement, mainly to monitor the umbilical blood flow. If there is an increase in umbilical blood flow, it indicates that the cord entanglement is tight, which can affect the baby's safety, potentially leading to lack of oxygen or suffocation. Therefore, in the late stages of pregnancy, it is also necessary to go to the hospital every 3-7 days for fetal heart monitoring to check if there is any lack of oxygen in the fetus while inside the womb. If there is fetal hypoxia in the late stages of pregnancy, it is advisable to terminate the pregnancy in a timely manner.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Lu
Obstetrics
1min 1sec home-news-image

What to do if the umbilical cord is wrapped around the neck once in late pregnancy?

During the late stages of pregnancy, a B-ultrasound might sometimes reveal that the fetus has the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck once. This condition is a physiological occurrence. Having the cord wrapped once around the neck does not cause intrauterine hypoxia or harm the growth and development of the fetus inside the womb. The vast majority of cases where the cord is wrapped are physiological, and whether the cord is wrapped around once or twice, there is no need for excessive worry. In the late stages of pregnancy, the most important thing when the cord is found wrapped around the neck is to monitor fetal movements. As long as the fetal movements are good, it indicates that the fetus is in a normal condition inside the womb. It is also important to keep up with regular prenatal check-ups to assess whether the fetal growth and development are normal. Additionally, it is not advised to take any action to intervene when the cord is wrapped around the neck, as neither adopting sleeping positions nor any other methods can release the cord from the neck. These methods are futile and sometimes might even harm the fetus.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Yin Xing
Obstetrics
58sec home-news-image

Is moxibustion useful for breech presentation and nuchal cord?

Fetal breech presentation and nuchal cord can be effectively addressed with moxibustion. Breech positions are common in early pregnancy but typically resolve to a head-first position by 32 weeks and become relatively stable. Higher incidences of breech positions are noted in cases of fetal abnormalities, twin pregnancies, abnormal amounts of amniotic fluid, uterine abnormalities, and narrow pelvis. If a breech position is still present after 32 weeks, moxibustion treatment can be considered. Moxibustion is applied at the Zhiyin acupoint (located 0.1 inches beside the nail corner on the outer side of the little toe) and is generally recommended once daily for 15 to 30 minutes, with one week constituting a treatment course. Afterward, the improvement in the fetal position can be evaluated. The purpose of using moxibustion is to promote fetal activity, which may help resolve nuchal cord entanglement during fetal movements.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Yin Xing
Obstetrics
1min 24sec home-news-image

How to prevent umbilical cord entanglement in late pregnancy

There are no effective prevention methods for nuchal cord, which is the most common form of umbilical cord entanglement where the cord wraps around the fetus's neck, limbs, or trunk. Nuchal cord occurs in 90% of these cases, frequently involving the cord wrapping around the neck once. This phenomenon can be observed in 20% of deliveries and is associated with factors such as an overly long umbilical cord, a small fetus, excessive amniotic fluid, and frequent fetal movements. An excessively long umbilical cord is mostly a physiological occurrence since the cord floats in the amniotic fluid and its actual length cannot be accurately measured, with no effective methods to prevent its occurrence. Excessive amniotic fluid and a small fetus are linked to certain pregnancy complications, such as diabetes-induced polyhydramnios and restricted fetal growth. Actively controlling blood sugar during pregnancy can prevent such issues. Frequent fetal movements are physiological for some pregnant women. Women who experience more frequent fetal movements throughout pregnancy are likely to encounter nuchal cord. Clinically, nuchal cord does not require special management unless it leads to obstructions in fetal descent, fetal distress, or variations in fetal heart rate. It does not impact delivery or fetal development.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Wen Li
Obstetrics
56sec home-news-image

What should I do if the umbilical cord is wrapped around the neck once during the mid-pregnancy?

The incidence of the umbilical cord wrapping around the neck once is quite high, accounting for about one-fifth of pregnant women. Generally, if the umbilical cord is loosely wrapped around the child's neck, and if the cord is long enough, it usually does not have a significant impact on the fetus. However, if the umbilical cord is tightly wrapped around the neck, and additionally, if the cord is relatively short, it can sometimes lead to pulling and thinning of the cord, causing obstruction in the blood vessels within the cord. This can result in oxygen deficiency for the baby. Therefore, during the mid-pregnancy period when umbilical cord entanglement occurs, it is important to enhance monitoring. Regular prenatal check-ups, counting fetal movements by oneself, and frequent monitoring of fetal heart rate changes are advisable.