Background In recent years great attention has been focused on the structural and histological structures of the placenta and the umbilical cord due to their vital roles in fetal development and neonatal survival. While extensive studies have been documented in this area in the developed world, there is very little published information about the morphological variations that occur in human placenta in Sudan. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the structural variations in placental indices and its relation to neonatal outcome. Methods A prospective hospital - based study conducted in Wad Madani Maternity Teaching Hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between July 2014 and March 2018. Results Mean placental indices for weight, diameter and thickness were 515.51 g, 18.80 cm and 2.43 cm respectively. The mean neonatal indices were 2.95 kg, 33.19 cm and 44.42 cm for weight, head circumference and length respectively. Neonatal weight correlated significantly with placental weight, neonatal length and neonatal head circumference (P < 0.000). On the contrary, neonatal weight had no significant correlation with placental thickness and diameter Conclusion In this study, there was a strong relationship between the placenta and the fetus suggesting that the well-being of the fetus is highly dependent on the placenta since it serves as a link between the mother and the fetus.

Background The neonatal morbidity and mortality is very high in the Sudan, the umbilical cord association and contribution to this is planned to be answered. Therefore the present study was designed to provide some information on the morphological variations of human umbilical cord via gross anatomical assessment and their correlation with foetal factors such as foetal weight and length. Methods A prospective hospital - based study conducted in Wad Madani Maternity Teaching Hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between July 2014 and March 2018 Results The mean diameter of the 371 umbilical cords was 2.1±0.24cm. Length was 53.8±3.8 cm length ranging from 48 – 62 cm and 10 (2.7%) of 371 umbilical cords were uncoiled. of which, 1 (0.3%) cords were with absent Wharton’s Jelly. The mean neonatal indices were 2.95 kg, 33.19 cm and 44.42 cm for weight, head circumference and length respectively. There was just significant strong positive correlation between umbilical cord length and length of neonates. Also Umbilical cord diameter had a positive correlation with length of neonates and negative correlation with weight of neonates and APGAR Score. Conclusion The present study suggests that ‘normal’ cord length should be between 40 cm and 70 cm in length. Umbilical cord diameter had a positive correlation with fetal length and negative correlation with fetal weight and APGAR score. The diameter range of 1-2 cm suggests that a normal cord must not exceed 2 cm in diameter. However the umbilical cord index had negative correlation with length of neonates.