Publication:

Prognosis of umbilical cord prolapse: experiency of an African maternity

Background Assess the fetal prognosis of umbilical cord prolapse (UCP) at Cocody University Hospital.

Methods It was a cross-sectional, descriptive and case-control study about 92 cases of umbilical cord prolapse beating. It took place over a period of 3 years from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2015.

Results The frequency of the umbilical cord prolapse beating was 0.73%. The patients came from other maternity in 84.8%. Upon arrival in our maternity, therapeutic attitude was dominated by the positioning of Trendelenburg (73.9%). The c-section was performed in 63% of cases. The fetal prognosis was bad; neonatal mortality was 41.3% at 5 minutes of life against 9.8% in the control group. The factors aggravating the fetal prognosis were the long delay between the occurrence of the umbilical cord prolapse and childbirth, the delivery mode and the small birth weight.

Conclusions The late management and the evacuations negatively affect the fetal prognosis. Improving fetal prognosis requires quick care and the provision of an efficient technical platform surrounding maternity.