Have you ever wondered what the risks & benefits are of early vs late clamping of the umbilical cord once your baby is born? This is a topic I have just recently come across, surprisingly this topic wasn't even touched in my OB rotation of nursing school. During my rotation, I saw a few deliveries and each time the umbilical cord was cut right after the delivery of the baby. In the hospital, this practice seems to be pretty routine, and I don't think the timing is usually considered. In birthing centers, they typically delay cutting the umbilical cord for anywhere from 10-20 minutes and this is why. The baby has been receiving blood, oxygen, and nutrients via the placenta and umbilical cord for the past 40 weeks, so why would someone be in a rush to cut off the supply?
- The blood coming from the placenta belongs to the baby, early clamping deprives the baby of anywhere from 54-160 mL of blood (half of the baby's total blood volume at birth).
- Cord blood contains a significant amount of iron.
- Babies benefit from oxygen delivered in the cord blood when taking the first few births (early clamping can lead to respiratory distress).
- Delayed cord clamping allows the baby to be in the mother's arms right after birth, allowing the baby to regulate temperature and initiate bonding with mom.
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6 comments:
Awesome information Chelsey. Thanks for blogging about it. I agree with late clamping also. I delivered my second baby, Alexander, in a birthing center and they didn't cut the cord until long after the placenta had been delivered. He responded very well to it.
Never thought about that before
i like this blog post. very interesting!
woot for delayed clamping! We are planning on it in a few weeks, along with a few other 'alterations' to normal hospital procedure... i don't know what nursing area you are going into, but if it's of the maternity sort, ina may's guide to childbirth is an awesome book, just beware of the super hippy childbirth stories in the beginning!
I totally agree that late clamping will benefit the baby, but what effects does it have on being able to donate or store cord blood. I donated Landon's cord blood because I think there is a lot of useful research being conducted out there that cord blood is allowing to happen. I'm intrigued by this subject. And, at the hospital where I delivered I was allowed to hold Landon right after birth, the timing of the cord being clamped had no impact on that. I delivered at a hospital that was all about keeping to birth plans as best they could and that was part of my birth plan, so maybe that is why.
Thanks to you, my future baby is going to be strong, healthy, and don't forget a NINJA! Yay for late clamping of umbilical cord!
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