A baby died due to an “exceptionally rare” tear in the umbilical cord that occurred minutes before he was born, an inquest has heard. ‘Unpreventable’Dr Peter Kelehan, a pathologist, said the child suffered an “unexplained, unpreventable natural occurrence that was exceptionally rare”. The cause of death was acute hypovolemic shock due to blood loss as a consequence of a spontaneous tear in the umbilical vein. The torn vein was situated in the umbilical cord, which was attached to the margins of the placenta, which occurs in around 15 per cent of pregnancies. “Babies can kick very hard and sometimes bruise the placenta,” Dr Kelehan said.

Source: The Irish Times May 14, 2018 13:41 UTC