Coarctation of Cord: An Unidentified Cause of Fetal Demise

Abstract

Coarctation of the umbilical cord is featured as segmental or diffused absence of Wharton’s jelly, resulting in the constriction of cord and narrowing of vessels. It can develop at any gestational age and is unrelated to parity. The stricture of the cord is usually associated with torsion and characterized by fibrosis of Wharton’s jelly and thickening of the vessel walls, which hampers the fetoplacental circulation, resulting in hypoxia/anoxia and subsequently fetal demise. Although this event must be noticed frequently in practice, it is often not reported by the obstetricians because examination of the umbilical cord is not performed in all cases of unexplained stillbirth.