Why cut the cord asap after birth?
In hospitals all over the US, umbilical cords are cut right after the baby is born.
In birth centers or at homebirths around the world, typical protocol involves letting the cord stop pulsing before it’s ever clamped and cut.
Why the difference?
First let me clarify - we’ll be talking about vaginal deliveries of full term, healthy infants. Medical reasons on the part of mother or child may require quick seperation. That being said, these are the babies who need their blood the most, and may undergo more intervention than they would have if they would have gotten all of their blood in the first place. talk to your doctor before you are in labor about this and ask about emergency protocol - there is a lot that can be done bedside while baby is still attached.
Some may argue that doctors are short on time and as a result, cords need to be clamped and cut right away. Other silly myths surround this issue including the blood draining out of the baby if you wait to clamp and cut. Another one is that the baby will get too much blood and jaundice, plethora, hyperviscosity, or polycythemia, etc. (which has been proven false) Still more research tells us to leave the cord alone until there is no activity in it - something many hospitals seem to ignore.
Delayed clamping and cutting actually holds benefits to the baby.
First of all - if the cord is still intact, is not clamped, and is still pulsing, the baby is still getting oxygen. This is one reason that a baby not breathing directly after birth isn’t a huge emergency - baby is still getting oxygen. The placenta can continue to “breathe” for the baby for about 5 minutes after birth, giving the baby time to acclimate and “unfold” its lungs before taking that first breath. The blood contains maternal antibodies, iron and other nutrients that are important for the baby.
The baby is still getting the all-important blood that is actually his or hers to begin with which helps the brain, heart and lungs. It’s not “extra” blood, “placenta” blood, or even the mother’s blood. It’s the baby’s blood that happens to be running through an organ within it’s mothers body.
Actually, delaying the cord cutting can actually help mom too - when the placenta is given time to rid it’s self of the blood within, it seperates more easily from the uterus and there is less blood loss for mom!
When the transfer of blood is complete, the cord will collapse and it is safe to cut the cord at that point. It took about 15-20 minutes when I had my son at home, but it can be longer or shorter in many instances. Most umbilical cords are around 2 feet in length, long enough for mom to hold the baby skin to skin on her chest so the baby doesn’t get cold (in fact, moms body does a better job of keeping baby warm, anyway… forgo the warmer - hold your baby!), mom can even nurse during this time and get aquainted with her baby.
Another clarification: delayed cutting of any time length has it’s benefits. Whether it’s just a few minutes, or waiting until the cord has stopped pulsing completely.
What are the risks of early cord clamping? Early cord clamping has been shown to cause: newborn anemia, respiratory distress leading to brain damage and/or death (rare, yes, but it happens), inadequate blood supply resulting in a need for transfusion, possible heart defects resulting from problems closing off the hole in the heart valves following birth, and more. There are also suggestions that the rise in autism is due brain damange resulting from early cord clamping.
There is even the possibility that early cord clamping in Rh- moms causes them to develop blood sensitization in their next pregnancies as a result of the clamp creating a backflow of sorts, of the babys blood into the maternal “wound” create by the placenta as it detaches.
Whew! Some practitioners are still stuck on the belief that early cord clamping is best and they may not budge… Luckily, there are others out there who will, or who are already doing this. Whatever you choose, be sure your care provider is someone who shares your beliefs about the type of birth YOU want to have and is willing to help make it happen. There is nothing worse than having to dread the upcoming birth because you want it to go one way and you know it simply won’t happen, even in the best of circumstances due to “protocol”, staff, care provider or otherwise…
May 25th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Wow! I never knew how beneficial it was to delay in cutting the cord! I wish I had know that with Knoah!! I would have pushed to doctor’s to look into that as an option. He was not breathing at birth and that could of given him minutes to adjust!