For a long time we have known that early cord clamping does the baby a disservice. But early clamping of the cord is a routine practices that like many of the others, are designed to speed up the caregiver's time at a birth getting him/her in and out of the birthing room as quickly as possible. Much of this has to do with the time demands that Insurance Companies put on hospital caregivers today.
Why is it important for the cord to finish pulsing (about 5 minutes)? First, so that the baby continues to receive necessary blood and oxygen form the placenta! This continued supply of oxygen is even more important for a baby who is having difficulty at first to draw in oxygen on their own at first, otherwise the baby must use his lungs immediately, ready or not. Systemic pressure was found to be higher in babies whose cords are clamped later. Babies whose cords were cut earlier were also reported to have significant iron deprivation. (De Marsh et al.) There can also be an increase in heart murmers. (Buckle et al.)
In fact if a baby is born in a Surprise Birth, say on the way to the hospital, the cord does not need to be cut right away. Wrap the baby in a warm blanket and wait for the placenta to deliver. Then with her placenta still attached by the cord, go ahead and continue transport to the hospital where they will clamp and cut the cord. (Of course this is just a partial list and it is good to study that situation in more depth in case it were to happen. This is to illustrate the non-necessity of clamping the cord yourself.)
In some cultures the cord is not cut at all, and this known as a Lotus Birth. But that is a whole different post!
Below is an interesting site on the subject and how premature cord clamping might even be a cause of autism and more....
-Buckel, Arcilla, Burnard, and James. J Peds. 67 (1965):239.
-De Marsh, Q. B., et al. “The Effect of Depriving the Infant of its Placental Blood.”
Journal. American Medical Association (7 June 1941).
J
http://www.cordclamp.com/
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3 comments:
Good to know!
The new design looks great! Although the "hypnobirthing birth stories" link on the right sidebar is broken. :)
I recently gave birth at LRH in July and I had asked my doctor if we could wait until the cord had stopped pulsing before it was clamped/cut. She was happy to do this, and when it did stop she asked me if we could go ahead and cut it now. So, not all docs want to cut it right away and get out of there ASAP but it seems like that is the norm. My doc actually spent a good 1-2 hours with me at the end of my labor/birth :)
My sister-in-law just had a baby today, and they respected her wishes for delayed cord clamping. Yay! I think it's starting to catch on. :o)
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