March 2023 · Volume 12 · Issue 3 Page 562 International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology Makinde OI et al. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2023 Mar;12(3):562-566 www.ijrcog.org pISSN 2320-1770 | eISSN 2320-1789 Original Research Article Maternal and fetal correlates of umbilical cord length in a sample of deliveries at a tertiary hospital in Southern Nigeria Olakunle I. Makinde*, Nkencho Osegi INTRODUCTION The umbilical cord is an important part of the fetoplacental unit. In fact, it has been reasonably said that “the baby’s life hangs by a cord”. 1 Several abnormalities of umbilical cord may occur; related to its length, thickness, coiling, placenta insertion site, number of vessels, in-utero distortion and primary tumours. 2,3 The average length of the umbilical cord at birth is 55 cm with a diameter of 1-2 cm. 4 About 5% of umbilical cords are less than 35 cm and about 5% are over 80 cm in length. However, there are variations in the length of the umbilical cord ranging from no cord at all to as long as 300 cm. 4 The umbilical cord is said to be long when it is >70 cm 5 and short when it is <40 cm. 6 Both long cords and short cords are associated with adverse perinatal outcome. 5,6 Cause of variation in umbilical cord length is yet unclear, however, the length of the fetus has been documented to reflect such characteristic as fetal movement. 4 It is believed that ample space in the amniotic cavity for fetal movement and the tensile force on the umbilical cord during such movements are two main factors that determine cord length. 7 Moreover, specific gene-mediated differences in protein expression pattern related to cell proliferation has been suggested. 4 Differences in umbilical cord length between male and female babies has also been documented. 8 Fetal sex goes beyond a random event of chance, perhaps it mediates the interactive process DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20230519 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria Received: 25 January 2023 Accepted: 10 February 2023 *Correspondence: Dr. Olakunle I. Makinde, E-mail: olakunleife@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Long and short umbilical cords are associated with adverse perinatal outcome. This study aimed to determine whether umbilical cord length at birth has a correlation with maternal parity, maternal age, sex of the baby, birth weight, birth length and placenta weight. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the federal medical centre Yenagoa, Nigeria. Data collected using a pre-designed proforma was analysed using IBM SPSS statistics version 23. Results: Mean age of the parturient was 31.1±4.4 years. Half were multiparous. Mean birth weight, birth length and placenta weight were 3.18±0.57 kg, 49.31±3.18 cm and 0.65±0.18 kg respectively. Mean umbilical cord length was 55.75±7.10 cm. There was a significant relationship and a positive correlation between umbilical cord length, parity (ɼ=0.39; p=0.001) and birth length (ɼ=0.27; p=0.024). Difference between male and female babies’ cord length was not statistically significant (ꭓ 2 =0.36; p=0.721). There was no significant relationship between maternal age, birth weight, placenta weight and umbilical cord length. Conclusions: Umbilical cord length increased significantly with increasing parity and birth length from this study. Women of increasing parity are therefore at increased theoretical risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality associated with long umbilical cords during labour and delivery. The relationship between cord length and birth length may be dependent on parity. This requires further study. There was no significant relationship between umbilical cord length and maternal age, sex of the baby, birth weight and placenta weight. Keywords: Umbilical cord length, Parity, Fetal sex, Length at birth, Birth weight, Placenta weight