In our birth prep class the instructor asked us to look in to delayed cord clamping. It seems to be a reasonable idea being that the baby reaps the benefits of having the cord blood returned to her body before clamping. Seems like a great idea.
However, as a FTM I don't know the logistics... They'll catch the baby, lay her on my stomach since she is still attached to the placenta, they wait a few minutes, clamp the cord, and then I deliver the placenta?
Any moms that feel strongly over this practice either way? Any cons I am missing?
Re: Delayed Cord Clamping
I am extremely pro delayed cord clamping. I actually would like to wait until the placenta is delivered if possible...but definitely until the cord turns white (however long that takes). There is a facebook page and numerous articles detailing the benefits. My understanding is some cords are actually somewhat long and the baby can be placed relatively high...but if he has to sit in my lap that is fine by me. I want immediate skin to skin and delayed testing. If they want to get apgars they can do it while he is on me and weigh him later on. As long of a process as labor is I think they can take whatever time is needed after delivery to allow my little guy to get all of his blood back.
There is a really great video available on YouTube that demonstrates the amount of blood that is returned if clamping is delayed.
I toured one hospital (not the one I will deliver at) and the nurse was extremely familiar with it. I plan to put it in my birth plan outline and give it to the nurses and OB when I deliver. I will also ask about it with the nurse who does the maternity ward tour at the hospital where I will deliver.
This for us as well. The doc showed me the cord had stopped pulsing and I gave the ok for my hubby to cut the cord. No big deal!
This is standard practice at our hospital now, which I think is great! Someone asked a few days ago about it and I posted a few links, I'm posting them again here for you. The first two are journal articles, the third is a blog post that's written in a scholarly fashion that cites many more journal articles that you can look up if you choose.
The WHO (World Health Org)'s recommendation:
https://apps.who.int/rhl/pregnancy_childbirth/childbirth/3rd_stage/cd004074_abalose_com/en/
British Medical Journal:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3217058/
"Science of Mom" blog post:
https://scienceofmom.com/2012/10/11/why-consider-delayed-cord-clamping/
Actually, that is not true at all.
I'm sure it's been said, but yep, that's pretty much how it'll go. You can wait a set number of minutes (min recommended is 3) or wait till it stops pulsing. I love having the time to just bond - I don't want my baby with anyone else but me those first few minutes anyway. It's a great option to consider, and it's cool that it's becoming more the norm at some hospitals.
I HAVE heard that babies can have more jaundice, but it wasn't documented as being significant, and it makes sense that if baby has more blood (which is good), there are more blood cells that have to die off and cycle through. My practice of nursing frequently the first several days has never resulted in worrisome levels of jaundice.
I agree with wash. In all the research I've done I have not come across these claims. Merc, Do you have a source or a link for this information you could share?
Who clicky
." On the other hand, there is also evidence to suggest that delayed umbilical cord clamping and cutting may put newborns at a higher risk of polycythemia, hyperbilirubinemia, and other neonatal disorders (4)."
And
ACOG clicky
"In five trials, which involved a total of 1,762 infants, a significant increase was noted in the need for phototherapy for jaundice after birth among infants in the late umbilical cord clamping group (RR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.08?2.63)"
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, I've been trying to install this stupid car seat. Pregnancy brain is kicking my a$$! Here is the link to the study I was looking at. https://apps.who.int/rhl/reviews/CD004074sp.pdf ( sorry, I don't know how to make it clicky)
I've looked more and most studies do say there is no significant difference in polycythemia and fluid overload. I think delayed cord clamping is beneficial and was simply trying to point out that nothing is without risk.
Thanks for the links, I was really curious not trying to challenge the statement necessarily.