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The umbilical cord connects a baby in the womb to its mother. It runs from an opening in your babyâs stomach to the placenta in the womb. The average cord is about 50cm (20 inches) long.
The 2 umbilical arteries are continuous with the internal iliac arteries and carry deoxygenated blood from the fetus to the placenta. The most common abnormality of the umbilical cord is a single umbilical artery (SUA), which occurs in 0.5% to 2.5% of pregnancies. This finding is sometimes referred to as a 2-vessel cord. The loss of 1 umbilical artery likely occurs secondary to thrombotic atrophy of a previously normal artery.