Impact of cord entanglement on perinatal outcome.

• Cord entanglement is a frequent postpartum finding, involving 1 in every 6 deliveries. • Cord entanglement was not associated with small for gestational age newborns. • Cord entanglement was found to be associated with antepartum fetal death. • Further research is needed in order to assess cord entanglement prenatal diagnosis and implications. To evaluate the impact of umbilical cord entanglement around various fetal organs on perinatal outcomes. A retrospective population-based study of all deliveries between 1988 and 2016 at a tertiary medical center. Immediate perinatal outcomes of newborns with and without cord entanglement were compared. The prevalence of any cord entanglement in our population was 16.62 % (45,312 cases out of 272,713 deliveries during the study period). Cord entanglement was found to be significantly associated with antepartum fetal death (OR = 2.13, 95 % CI 1.77–2.57, p < 0.001) and one-minute Apgar score less than 7 (OR = 1.21, 95 % CI 1.16–1.27, p < 0.001). There was no association between cord entanglement and small for gestational age (SGA) babies. Cord entanglement is associated with antepartum fetal death, but not with SGA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]