Surviving a Two-Vessel Cord Pregnancy

“There are complications with your pregnancy.” A phrase no pregnant woman wants to hear.

Unfortunately, this was my reality with my second pregnancy when I was told our baby was developing with a two-vessel umbilical cord and calcium deposits on his heart.

I scoured the internet for support during my pregnancy and I hope to be that now to other women dealing with this condition.

It all began when:

We found out I was pregnant in July 2017. We were planning for this and so excited when it happened! I was starting my internship in August and graduating with my master’s degree in December. Our baby was due in March so it was set out to be perfect.

I went for my first ultrasound in November when I was 20 weeks pregnant. We weren’t finding out the gender so I went by myself as I thought it would be an uneventful appointment…….except it wasn’t.

The ultrasound technician explained to me that she discovered our baby was developing with only two vessels in his umbilical cord, instead of three which most babies have. A two-vessel cord occurs in 1% of pregnancies and the cause is unknown.

She also discovered that our baby had calcium deposits on his heart.

I had absolutely no idea what any of these diagnoses meant but the technician explained that I was now classified as a high-risk pregnancy.

She explained these abnormalities can hinder the baby’s growth and are often markers associated with Down syndrome. She was literally talking to me like we were chatting about the weather, not that she was relaying unexpected and devastating news to a 20-week pregnant woman.

I walked out with tears streaming down my face trying to keep my shit together until I got to the car, where I lost it.

After calling my husband, I got ahold of my midwife so she could explain everything to me a little more in-depth.

She explained that she could still be my midwife but I would be seeing a specialist every 4 weeks for growth scans to make sure the baby was developing on track. She confirmed that a two-vessel umbilical cord and calcium deposits were indicators often seen in babies who had Down syndrome but that I shouldn’t freak out (OH OK!!).

I then contacted my doula, also a great friend of mine, who told me 75% of babies with a two-vessel umbilical cord are born healthy, with complications only arising in 25%.

That number stuck with me throughout the rest of my pregnancy; I kept reminding myself those were pretty good odds.

I’d like to mention that two hours after finding out this news I had to give a presentation to my supervisor of the internship I was in…like a presentation that affected me graduating in a few weeks.

It was one of the hardest days of my life.

I could not stop crying, no matter how hard I tried, but somehow I had to pull myself together and give this presentation (for the record: I got an A *hair flip*)!

Anyhow, for the weeks to come I scoured the Internet for any information I could about babies developing with a two-vessel umbilical cord. I really did not find anything comforting and it only fueled my anxiety more.

You know when your finger hurts so you google why it hurts and next thing you realize Dr. Google has diagnosed you with stage three pancreatic cancer?! Googling two-vessel umbilical cord did not make me feel any better and only caused me to break out in hysteria in fear for my baby’s life.

I even searched the hashtag on Instagram yearning for stories of babies that were born healthy despite their two-vessel umbilical cord.

During my research, I found out 50% of babies who have Down syndrome have no markers or indication as such during pregnancy. My baby had two markers, what other indication did I need?

I felt like there was a really strong possibility that we may be raising a baby with special needs.

And all the while all I could do was cry at the thought of people being mean to my child because he had Down syndrome. I was so emotional when I would think about how people would treat him – like already wanting to protect him from the world and he wasn’t even born yet.

It took several appointments and calls to insurance but two months later we were finally approved for genetic testing.

The test came back negative for any gene mutation. Once that stressor of the unknown was over, we still had the worry of the baby’s growth being hindered because of the two-vessel, primarily his heart and kidneys.

I continued to attend my appointments with the specialist who monitored the growth throughout my pregnancy. She wanted to see the baby above the 10^th percentile. Our baby was consistently in the 50^th percentile!

By February I eventually asked my midwife if I could stop going to the specialist appointments because I felt so comforted that everything was going to be ok due to the genetic testing results and the constant ultrasounds showing our baby was growing and developing healthy.

My midwife gave me the ok to cease the appointments with the specialist.

A few weeks later Javi Paul Ruan was born, three days before his due date, weighing 8lb 8oz.

A few additional ultrasounds had to be given to Javi after he was born to make sure everything developed healthy.

He passed them all!

He is officially part of the 75% of babies that had a two-vessel umbilical cord and developed without any complications.

It is incredibly remarkable what the human body is capable of.

It was a stressful few months but I am so thankful for the blessing of this little healthy baby!

I want this story to help any other mothers who are part of the 1% of pregnant mamas stressing about a two-vessel pregnancy.

All I wanted to do while I was pregnant was read positive accounts of women who delivered healthy babies despite a two-vessel cord but there were very few personal stories I could find.

To the women going through this, everything will be ok, stay calm for your baby. It’s easier said than done but surrounding yourself with those who love and support you is most important. And please contact me if you want to talk or vent to someone!