• Unassisted homebirth and cutting the umbilical cord

    Date: 2011.05.02 | Category: Post-partum | Tags: ,,

    One of the most frequent questions about unassisted childbirth – as I noticed from UC forums, “real life” friends, and the search terms people use to get to Write About Birth – is how to cut the umbilical cord. To those of us who have done it, the question may seem slightly bizarre. There’s nothing easier than cutting the cord, right? Well, there are quite a few different aspects to consider. What do you cut the cord with? What do you clamp or tie it with? When do you sever the umbilical cord, and how about the length?

    What to cut the cord with

    Scissors or a knife are your easiest options. I personally used a knife to sever my son’s umbilical cord with. Some unassisted birth folks choose other, much less-known options like cord burning (not sure about the benefits of this… OK, that’s a euphemism for “I think it’s weird”), or choose Lotus Birth and so do not cut the cord at all. Scissors or a knife can be boiled to eliminate bacteria. I avoid using the word “sterilizing”, because I do not think boiling technically sterilizes your knife or scissors.

    What to tie/clamp it with?

    It is possible to order cord clamps from birth supply sites like In His Hands. Some people use (clean! Let’s say it again – clean! And perhaps boiled) shoelaces, and there are special cord ties on the market too. As long as you allow the cord to stop pulsating, it will go white and entirely limp before you sever it. In that case, tying or clamping is not necessary at all. After my son was born, I waited for the cord to go completely cold and hard before cutting it, and I did not clamp it.

    When to cut the cord?

    I’d like to refer you to a previous post about the benefits of delayed cord clamping. Also look at immediate vs delayed cord clamping – a visual comparison to see what a placenta looks like following immediate cutting, and what it looks like if the blood that is in the placenta upon birth is allowed to reach the baby.

    A note about cord care

    You can use rubbing alcohol, iodine, breast milk, honey, or witch hazel to prevent your baby’s umbilical cord stump from getting infected. Using too much of any of the above can interfere with the natural process of the cord stump separating from the baby.