At our doctors appointment on Tuesday we actually learned a little more than the sex of the baby, however the news was a little scary (especially in the way it was presented to us). After our sonogram the doctor told us that he needed to go contact our doctor and that he would come back to explain what was going on - then he left. Being the person I am, I went into total freak out mode while Brett tried to stay calm - turns out we were both sort of right.
When the doctor came back he informed us that Aaron was in great health; all of his organs were forming correctly, there was no deformities, and he was a pretty good size (1 pound 1 oz). The "explanation" however was not such good news, however and he indicated that the baby's umbilical code was short one artery (apparently ." We normal" babies have 2 - he has 1). The way that the doctor explained that many times when you find this in a fetus you find other issues such as birth defects, heart and liver problems, downs, and other medical issues; but usually those cases are in babies that show deformities within the first 20 weeks of gestation (we are at 22 weeks with no issues thus far). He told us that this would mean monthly level II sonograms and a possible need to do an amino.
Since we weren't satisfied with the doctors explanation or answers to our questions we did a lot of research online ourselves and found that the reason for all the monitoring was actually a good thing because this can also be linked to pre-mature delivery and low birth weight. The extra sonograms will be important for making sure we get the baby out when it is necessary should that time come before the due date (August 25, 2008). The other thing we found on a lot of sites was that we shouldn't worry too much because there is a lot of research that says the baby will be 100% normal.
If you want to do your own research on the subject the condition is called "single uterine artery;" however This site helped us understand what the definition of a normal cord verses what Aaron has are:
umbilical artery: in normal pregnancies there are two. The arteries, along with the umbilical vein, are surrounded by the connective tissue of the cord (Wharton's jelly) which protects the vessels from the mechanical trauma associated with cord torsion and normal fetal movement. A single uterine artery, resulting from either agenesis or atrophy of the second artery, may be less hemodynamically efficient and has been anecdotally associated with fetal growth restriction
We are trying to keep a positive outlook, however we were a little shaken by the news and really pray that everything will work out.
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