What does three cord vessels seen mean?

Ultrasound Terms: The umbilical cord is a tubular conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. The cord normally contains two arteries (the umbilical arteries) and one vein (the umbilical vein), buried within a thin walled tube with jelly as support. This is often described in ultrasound reports of review of the developing baby. In other words, the umbilical cord was seen with normal 3 vessels.

Reason to smile: Babies' umbilical cords should contain 3 vessels, so it's something we look for on ultrasound and at the time of birth. Sometimes the cord will only contain two vessels, and this is sometimes associated with problems. So if you see only 2 vessels, further investigation may be warranted. But 3 vessels means happy, happy.