Reddit is great when you’re cruising around the Internet for interesting stories. Millions of people visit Reddit everyday who just love to share their personal experiences with the world. Reddit even has subpages, where you can look up a specific topic and can read stories about it. There’s an infinite amount of topics that can be looked into. Which is exactly how we found this unbelievable story.
One of the most general sections on Reddit is the sub-reddit “Pics.” In “Pics” people share pictures of interesting things or even tell of personal experiences with photographic proof. A Redditor, who goes by the name Azathothfrog, posted an amazing photo in 2015, and described the miracle that was the birth of his son.
Women are biologically meant to carry and give life to children. Regardless of that, it’s pretty common for something to go wrong during this time. There is no short supply of infant and women casualties, due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. This is especially true in underdeveloped countries. One of the causes of this, is the umbilical cord.
The umbilical cord is responsible for delivering nutrients and oxygen from the mother to the baby during it’s time developing in the placenta. Unfortunately, if the umbilical cord ends up in the wrong place, things could take a turn for the worst. The infant could suffocate from having the cord wrapped around its neck. The cord could also get tangled, cutting off the source of life. This Redditor found this out the hard way.
The pregnancy of Azathothfrog’s wife went as smoothly as anyone could hope for. There were no infections, no serious complications, and no extreme burden on her body. When the couple prepared for the baby to come, they made all of the typical arrangements. There was no way that all of their preparation could prepare them for what would happen.
When the big day finally arrived, everything was going as planned. After a few hours of labor, his wife was moved into the delivery room. Azathothfrog went with her, but stayed off to the side, so he didn’t end up in the doctor’s way. After all of the waiting, the baby’s head began to crown.
Azathothfrog watched as his newborn baby was born, completely in awe. When he heard his child’s first cry, his heart was stolen. The baby was cleaned and checked out by the doctor and all he could about was how happy he was. When the doctors found something on his baby, he was immediately pulled out of his state of bliss.
When the doctors were cutting the umbilical cord, they noticed that it was tied in a perfect knot! Most of the time, that would mean that blood wasn’t flowing to the baby, or eliminating waste, and they would surely die. But this baby was breathing normally, crying, and his skin was the normal color. He was perfect! Doctors knew how rare it was for something like this to happen, so they urged the father to capture it.
“Hurry up dad, take a picture, your baby is a miracle,” yelled one of the doctors to Azathothfrog. So, of course, he did! Now he cherishes that image because he knows how lucky he is to have his healthy little boy. After he shared the picture on Reddit, the post was overflowing with comments from users who were simply amazed, and others who had their own stories. One heartbreaking story, in particular, caught everyone’s eye.
The Redditor stated that he was an anesthesiologist that had over 15 years experience in the delivery and operating rooms. He told Azathothfrog congratulations, and then told him how lucky their family was. He said that during his career he had seen so many miraculous things happen, but the saddest story was one involving the umbilical cord.
A pregnant woman had a scheduled C-section for her child’s birth. The day before her C-section, the woman went to her doctor’s office to make sure everything was all set for the arrival of her baby. Everything looked just fine, so she was sent home. When she arrived at the hospital the next day, the woman was given horrible news.
The woman was prepped for the surgery by doctors and nurses. When she was given a final ultrasound, the baby didn’t seem to be moving, and the doctors couldn’t find a heartbeat. It didn’t take long before the doctors realized that throughout the night, the cord knotted and the baby didn’t survive. It was a heartbreaking story, but actually a pretty rare occurrence.
Tangles and loops in the umbilical cord happen quite often. But, according to data, only 1% of cords have actual knots in them that prevent the blood flow. In most circumstances, umbilical cords have a mucous substance in them called Wharton’s Jelly, which protects the blood vessels from being constricted. You won’t believe how interesting Wharton’s Jelly is!
At the time of birth, the outside conditions are way cooler than those inside the mommy’s womb. When the cord makes contact with cool air, the Wharton’s Jelly shrinks, turns hard, causing it to squeeze and close off the blood vessels. Because of this, the cord will naturally clamp off before the doctors even have a chance to cut it. But doing this doesn’t make it useless.
Umbilical cords contain cells that have the ability to regenerate and create different types of cells. These stem cells can make bone, cartilage, muscle, and fat. Research on cord tissue is currently being performed to see how it can be used to treat conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.