• Benefits of delayed cord clamping

    Date: 2010.07.09 | Category: Birth | Tags: ,,,

    No matter where you choose to birth, you probably get some say about when your baby’s umbilical cord is clamped. In a traditional hospital birth, the umbilical cord is clamped immediately after birth. What are the benefits of not clamping and cutting the cord right away, and what are the reasons not to sever the umbilical cord in the first moments after birth?

    Many studies where published in recent years about delayed cord clamping. Meanwhile, I have never seen any scientific evidence suggesting there are any advantages to cutting the cord immediately. As such, perhaps we should refer to cutting the umbilical cord right after birth as “premature cord cutting”, rather than stating we “delay” cord clamping and cutting if we choose to wait.

    When I was researching the ideal timing for cord cutting while I was contemplating a freebirth, these are some of the conclusions I arrived at.

    Allowing the baby to stay attached to its placenta for at least two minutes after birth gives him or her access to oxygen, should they need it. Babies whose cords are clamped and cut prematurely have lower amounts of blood, decreased iron levels, and a higher incidence of anemia. They also need blood transfusions more often. The flip side of this is that waiting to cut the cord results in higher iron levels, higher blood volume, and a lower risk of anemia.

    Cutting the cord a while after birth is not dangerous in any way, and does not “overload the baby’s system” by leading to an excessive volume of blood. To claims that this could be the case, the World Health Organization replies: “These effects have not been demonstrated. In fact, there is probably a self-regulatory mechanism in the infant which limits the extent of placental transfusion. Moreover, there is evidence that the circulatory system of the newborn is capable of rapid adjustment to an increase in blood volume and viscosity by increased fluid extravasation and dilation of blood vessels.”

    Many homebirth midwives, and mothers opting for unassisted births, choose to delay cord cutting until the cord stops pulsing. This ensures that as much blood as possible has been passed to the baby. When the cord goes limp, it is probably safe to assume that your baby has received everything they were going to get from their placenta.

    Personally, I waited to cut the cord until the placenta was born, but that can be impractical for some women, whose placentas take a while to deliver. Others choose not to cut the cord at all, opting for a “lotus birth” instead. In a lotus birth, the placenta and baby remain together until the cord falls off naturally.