I have a velamentous cord insertion with this LO, which is one step worse then a marginal, but is pretty close. Marginal is where the cord attaches to the side of the placenta, however in mine, the cord attaches to the amniotic sac and then branches out into unprotected vessels running through the sac and THEN attaches to the placenta. Mines also a little more complicated with a bi-lobed placenta that the umbilical cord is splitting and attaching to both
When I was told, like you, I went blank and had no idea what to ask. I then went home and it all hit me and I was a mess.
Ive read up a lot on it (as ive known for about 6 weeks now on my diagnosis). i think the complications of a marginal insertion are much less then VCI but it can cause IUGR (rarely, but still an increased risk). I know for my case, they are monitoring me with monthly ultrasounds, and then once I hit december, ill be in there twice a week for NST and ultrasounds. Still unclear on delivery though (c-section or vaginal) Depending on how marginal it is, they may do extra monitoring. I know that rarely a marginal insertion can turn into a velamentous cord insertion, so im not sure if your doctor will want to do another ultrasound later on to make sure this isnt the case.
I know the two are very similar, and I know my risks are IUGR, stillborn if the cord were to rupture due to the exposed vessels, blood clot in the cord, things like that, but these are rare. From the time I found out to having my next appointment, I sat down and wrote down every question i could think of and took it in with me and my MW and specialists were more than happy to answer all of them. Googling really freaked me out because there are a lot of scary things out there, but id def. talk to your MW/OB and see what they say. It may be a minor case, but you wont know until you talk to them. if you cant wait until your appointment, def. call and ask. Maybe they can answer some of the questions over the phone or make a separate appointment in the near future to answer everything.
Since your further along, i doubt yours would turn into VCI, and even with VCI, a lot of women go on to deliver perfectly healthy babies, and since your odds of complications are much less, I would think you shouldnt hit any bumps in the road, but the doctors this way can do increased monitoring when you are in labor (this is when usually there is an issue and baby may not tolerate labor due to the cord inserting improperly). Its great they know now so they can do this monitoring and are aware of it when you do deliver.
