Cord prolapse

Image:Cord.prolaps.jpg Cord prolapse is an obstetricemergency during pregnancyor labour that endangers the life of the baby. It is when the umbilical cordpresents itself outside of the uteruswhile the fetusis still inside. It can happen when the water breaks – with the gush of water the cord comes along. Usually, thereafter the fetus will engage and squash the cord, cutting off oxygen supplies and leading to brain damageor stillbirth. Before that happens, the baby must be quickly delivered by caesarean section. In the meantime, an attendant needs to reach into the vaginaand push the head up so that it does not suffocate the cord. It is useless to try to push the cord back.

Risk factors

Potential predisposing risk factors include:

• Prematurerupture of the amniotic sac
• When the amniotic sac ruptures polyhydramnios(having too much amniotic fluid) the cord may be forced out with the waters

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It uses material from the Wikipedia article Cord prolapse.