Incidence of furcate umbilical cord

Background : Placenta along with its umbilical cord is a vital organ for maintaining pregnancy and promoting normal foetal development. Foetal outcome can be adversely influenced by pathological changes in placenta and also by the variation in the site of attachment of umbilical cord. Aims and Objectives : To study the incidence of furcate umbilical cord insertion over placental chorionic plate in normal full term pregnancy. Materials and methods : This study was conducted in the department of Anatomy Government Medical College Haldwani. 100 freshly delivered placentae were collected from Dr. Sushila Tiwari Government hospital Haldwani. The sample was further categorized according to the parity of mother into two groups primipara (n=39) and multipara (n=61). Placentae included in the study were obtained from full term pregnancy without any complication like diabetes, hypertension etc. Results : The incidence of furcate umbilical cord in the present study was 2.6% in primipara group and 3.3% in multipara group. Conclusion : Variation in the site of insertion of umbilical cord are thought to result from process known as “Trophotropism” in which the chorionic frondosum or the early placenta migrates with advancing gestation to ensure better blood supply from more richly vascularised area. The overall incidence of furcate cord in this study is 3%. We have noticed one furcate cord (2.6%) in primipara group (n=39) and two furcate cords (3.3%) in multipara group (n=61). The neonates delivered were perfectly healthy without any evidence of congenital anomalies.