# Velamentous cord insertion and vasa previa



## Henergy

Hi everyone

I was diagnosed with these at my 20 week scan although the vasa previa has not been officially confirmed yet. I have my next appointment on the 
2nd of May for another scan.

I am now 22 weeks. Has anyone had any experience with this or know much about it??? From the internet it looks like I will have this bubba early.

Thanks


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## labmommy

Hi hon, I'm not sure what either of your two issues are exactly. I do have complete placenta previa. Its covered my whole cervix for about 8 wks now. The ob said he's seen ppl go to term with it and ppl go early with it but it does get monitored closely. I hope you can keep your baby cooking for a long time!


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## roxyvolcom77

I have a placenta previa, vasa previa and velamentous cord insertion hahah I'm so speciali got all 3!!!! I am delivering in 6 weeks at 34 weeks. Perinatologist and ob don't want me to go past that date due to possible rupture potential. I am and have been on modified bedrest since 18 weeks when I was diagnosed after bleeding and a diagnosis of sch. Withut this we would have never known about the other stuff so thank you God. Hang in there it will be ok but it is very serious. No lifting walking exercising and absolute pelvic rest no orgasms at all! Boooo


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## Henergy

Thanks for your reply. I am having another scan at 28 weeks and then meeting the obstetrician at 30 weeks but he does not seem to have any concerns and has even suggested a natural birth. What you have said seems to be the common practice so I am starting to feel a tad nervous!!!!


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## roxyvolcom77

Omg I can't believe he wants to deliver vaginally. That's insane. With just a placenta previa yip our risk for bleed is extreme. Has he ever delt with a VCI? It's dangerous! I would go to a perinatologist for sure. You know there is a 100 percent survival rate as long as eh follow the recommendations of no vagina delivery? That is scary to me!


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## kmwilletts

Henenergy, thanks for inviting me to the group via my post. 

I have not had an actual diagnosis of VP, but I strongly believe so far that I do have it (my doctor drew a diagram of what it looked like inside my uterus, I do have Complete Placenta Previa and also something with the cord, it attaches off-center from the placenta, which would indicate VCI, but it also attaches to the uterine wall as well, which sounds like VP)

I go for another ultrasound on June 15th and have my Ob-Gyn appointment on June 19th. I'm in Canada, so specialists are hard to find. I am lucky in that the ultrasound department that I go to has a colour doppler and great machines. If I am fully and truly diagnosed on the 19th I am going to have a ton of questions for my doctor to see how she plans on handling it, I do know she does deal with High Risk Pregnancies and whatnot, but seeing as how uncommon Vasa Previa is, I want to be certain that they know I don't want to take ANY risks with my child whatsoever, and will definitely be asking for an elective c-section at no later than 36 weeks, and also I will be wanting the steroid injections for baby's lungs. I just want this baby to arrive safe and sound.

Anyone here have anymore updates as to their condition or what protocol their doctor is/will be following?

As of my last appointment, my doctor didn't want to speculate on the cord issue because she said the wording in the letter from the ultrasound tech was unclear and she didn't know if she was interpreting it right, so she did definitely want me to get another ultrasound to double check and see how things are going. I was taken completely off of work duty, no heavy lifting over 20 lbs (I've been keeping it safe and not lifting over 10 just in case), and no sex. I've been trying to take it as easy as possible as I don't want any instances of bleeding.

I will update here for sure when I find out the results of my ultrasound. Big hugs to you ladies!


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## inxsmhpy

Hiya :hugs: I had a VCI with Brody. It was not found until after his birth! I delivered him vaginally at 39+2 weighing......9lb 8oz!

Someone somewhere was obviously looking out for my little boy :cloud9: And thankfully there was no vasa previa.


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## Henergy

I had another scan today. I am now 30 weeks but Vasa Previa has still not been confirmed. The specialist does not think that I have it but I am having another scan next week with the sonographer to check again with better equipment.

I am in NZ. My doctor is aware of Vasa previa and said he had not had a case since the 1990's. Guess I just keep waiting for the final verdict although time does feel like it is ticking by.


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## kmwilletts

Henergy, if they are still uncertain about it are they going to go ahead with an early c-section just in case? Big :hugs: to you!!! I do hope you don't have it. Would be nice if they could confirm 100% one way or the other!


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## Henergy

The suggestion has been an internal scan (does not sound pleasant) to confirm or not. I will see my midwife in the next couple of days to make a plan.

Hopefully you find out for sure in June what the verdict is. They found it harder to see the cord at 30 weeks due to the baby having its head down. The specialist thinks it is fine from what he can see but his equipment is not as high tec as the sonographers.

Good luck and let me know how you get on.


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## kmwilletts

Thanks a lot, I do hope I get stuff figured out this next time. I am not able to get any answers from my ultrasound tech, but I am going to voice my concerns to them due to the explanation of what my doctor told me. I joined the IVPF (international vasa previa foundation) and they have been amazing at explaining my situation to me. I provided them a copy of the diagram (well as close to a copy as I could do from my head lol) and they explained that it sounds like I have extensive velamentous insertion of the cord, and they said I should make sure my doctor and the tech find out WHERE the membranes are after they connect to my uterine wall, as it is quite likely that they run down the length of my wall towards the placenta and insert there. If the placenta previa does move, the membranes are likely to stay in the place of where the placenta had been previously, so right across the opening of my cervix, making this a definite vasa previa if that happens. But, the main thing is to find out where the heck the membranes actually are. I am pretty certain transvaginal ultrasounds are the best way to accurately detect where the membranes etc are, because abdominal exams are not quite as accurate from what I've read. I am thinking of asking the ultrasound tech if I should have one while I am there, along with an abdominal. I would be completely prepared an fine with that if that's what they would be willing to do upon my request, to get a better look. Crossing my fingers :) I'm not a pushy person by any means, but when it comes to my children's wellbeing and my own, well then I'll do whatever necessary :)

I am definitely going to update on here if I find anything extra out at my ultrasound (likely won't though) but I will pop on for sure after my doctor appointment to report the findings.

Good luck to you as well! I had an early transvaginal exam with this pregnancy when I had bleeding early on, and it honestly was not bad at all! I hope yours goes smoothly! Please update when you and your midwife find out what you will be doing!


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## v2007

Vasa Previa takes 2 seconds to confirm. 

My friend had VP with her 2nd daughter and sadly it was undiagnosed and her daughter was born without a heartbeat and was pronounced dead 41 mins after she arrived. 

It is really rare but a quick ultrasound can tell you whether or not you have it.

I would pay privately if you are really concerned.

V xx


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## kmwilletts

v2007, I am SO sorry to hear about your friends loss :( What a terrible thing!

The IVPF is really there to inform people and doctors how serious this issue is, and how absolutely preventable it is. From what I've read so far, different research papers have different things to say about how easy/not easy it is to actually accurately detect via ultrasound. Abdominal might not show it, and it can go undetected. The biggest thing is that ultrasounds should always find out where the umbilical cord attaches and how. Sad that it is something that isn't always detected now, and is a preventable thing. 

Unfortunately, there are absolutely no private places for me to go and get an ultrasound that will provide me with the info I need (they will not give any medical diagnosis whatsoever, it is there strict for you to see the baby and find out gender, and that is as far as it goes) so I have to depend on my doctors office and the ultrasound clinic that I go to. That just means I have to push as hard as I can to make sure I am thoroughly checked over.

Thanks for the reply, and once again, I am SO sorry about your friends loss :(


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## Henergy

Even with really thorough scans in the last couple of weeks the ultrasounds have not confirmed whether I do have VP. This is mainly due to the head being lower now than at 20 weeks.

kmwilletts I too joined the International Group although I sometimes wonder if this has freaked me out even more!!!

My doctor wants to be completely sure that is is VP... he said he is not slicing me open and removing this baby at 35 weeks if he does not need to, which I understand.

I actually found another forum on the internet that was quite positive on VP and VCI so it made me feel better.

Guess we just wait for the official diagnoses now.

So sorry to hear about your friend v2007, I don't know how people cope with grief like that.


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## kmwilletts

Henergy, I can totally see yours and your doctors point view on unnecessarily having a c section that early, especially if you may not have it. I really wish there was a super easy way of determining for sure whether or not people have it. I don't think my technologists.have 3d ultrasounds, but of course the private clinics where I am do. But, tyey will not give any diagnostic medical advice whatsoever, so even that won't help. At least my us clinic.has all colour flow Doppler, so that's good.

What other forum did you happen to find, if you dont mind sharing? It is so hard to find information on this being that it's so rare, the more people to.discuss with and more connections the better! :)


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## Henergy

It is mainly about VCI but also some on VP... this site wont let me post a link due to spam

It is on the babycenter site.

If you cant find it, let me know your email and will send it to you.


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## Henergy

How are you getting on kmwilletts??? I had another untrasound and internal scan earlier this week but baby is now right down on my cervix so although they tried to move the baby they couldnt so although it looks ok the specialist is still not 100 percent so need to go back again in 3 weeks. At this stage I will probably have a c-section at 39 weeks but not really any further ahead!:wacko:


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## jules1977

Hi, 
Please be more cautious, vp is a silent killer and can be prevented by having a c section around 38 weeks, it can be diagnosed via a colour Doppler ultrasound but is easy to miss. 

I don't want to worry you, but my first baby had undiagnosed vp and died when my waters went, I was 9 days overdue, because my waters went first the blood vessels in the cord ruptured straight away, it was so quick ,we couldn't save him.

Please make sure you are certain you don't have vp if you are going to have a vaginal birth.

All the best x


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## kmwilletts

Jules, I am SO sorry about your loss. :hugs: I can't imagine what you have been through, and I totally agree, doctors and technicians need to be much more careful in watching for this kind of diagnosis. Thank you for sharing your story and concern. I agree, if I am not 100 percent certain on my diagnosis, I am going to PUSH for a c-section. It is not my first choice, considering I had 2 vaginal births to big babies, but I do NOT want to lose my child at all and will do all that I can to prevent it. I also want to do what I can to let other people know about the risks, it is honestly something I've never heard about.

Henergy, I am doing alright, had my ultrasound yesterday. I am very grateful that the technician that I had helping the other tech (there was 1 to begin with, but she was having difficulty locating my vessels etc so had to bring another tech in with her) is NOT my doctor, or the one diagnosing this. The techs take all the pictures and paperwork to the ultrasound doctor for diagnosing conditions. If the pictures are not clear enough or don't show what they need to see, I'll get called in again (I'm pretty sure I will either way to monitor everything). They found I DO have a Velamentous Cord Insertion for certain, and that my complete placenta previa has moved (by how much I am not sure) but now the placenta has developed a succenturiate lobe, though it's location I don't know, but this also increases risk of rupture if a vaginal delivery were to occur. The vessels themselves branch off, one going away from my uterine wall and into the placenta, the others traveling down my uterine wall and "beside" my cervix but not directly across the cervical opening itself, and into my placenta. The tech didn't treat this as priority, while the other one really wanted to get more pictures and he wouldn't let her. It was frustrating to say the least. So now I await Tuesday to find out what the ultrasound doctor says in his report for my actual diagnosis. Fingers crossed they will let me know what is going on, because I do not want to wait to get a plan in place if at all possible.

I'm really sorry Henergy that you have to wait another 3 weeks to see if you can find more out!!! I am going to be posting on the BabyCenter site too regarding this to get some more info. I think that if the vessels are directly beside the cervical opening, it was pretty darn close to being VP, but I'm not a doctor and that's just my opinion. Even if it is not true VP, or a classic case of it, it is still a huge issue to be that close to the cervical opening in case of my water breaking. Fingers crossed for both of us to get a clear answer soon!!!


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## carterclan02

My daughter was born in July 2011 I had all of 10 if not more ultrasounds.. My vci went undiagnoised.. My daughter was very lucky.. She was a bit under weight for full term.. I was told with in minutes after the vaginal birth that our baby was nothing short of a miracle..thing was I kept having dreams about my placenta.. I kept thinking after each dream how my placenta was going bad.. Call it moms intuition or Gods guiding hand.. But my doc at my insistence agreed to induce 2 weeks early.. He also did not break my water which also saved my baby.. Water broke moments before birth.. Everything just feel into place to get my baby here safely although new knew this condition exsisted with me..


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