Publication:

Spontaneous umbilical cord hematoma causing still birth: a case report in Madagascar

Spontaneous umbilical cord hematoma is uncommon complication during delivery. It is responsible for severe fetal distress or death. We report a case of a 28 year-old primigravida Malagasy woman at the 37th weeks of gestation. She was admitted in the delivery room for beat oscillating on the fetal heart monitoring at the beginning of labour. Cesarean section was indicated for acute fetal distress in monitoring at dilation 5cm of the cervix traduced by some decelerations.  But she gives birth to a still born female fetus by vaginal way short time after. A 5,5 cm hematoma was discovered on umbilical cord. This still birth may be due to anoxia during acute compression of the umbilical vessels by the hematoma. So, placental and cord examinations in cases of unexplained fetal hypoxia and stillbirth are very important.