Who is going to cut the cord and when?
The normal procedure in most hospitals today is to simply cut the cord right away and get everything moving – the weighing, the bath, and so on. HOWEVER, more and more parents are choosing to delay the cord clamping. A five minute delay in clamping of the healthy infant’s umbilical cord results in increased iron stores and brain myelin in areas important for early-life functional development, according to a University of Rhode Island nursing study. The return of the infant’s own blood from the placenta, when waiting five minutes to clamp, results in a return of 50% of the baby’s iron rich blood cells! This can mitigate iron deficiency and vulnerability to anemia¹.
Erickson-Owens said “Our study shows that waiting five minutes or more before clamping the umbilical cord, while infants are held skin-to-skin with the mother, leads to more myelin development².”
Why is myelin development so important?
Increased myelination is associated with motor, sensory processing/function, and visual development, all-important for early phase development.
In addition, in pre-term infants, studies found that delayed clamping led to better motor development than in preterm babies whose cords were clamped immediately.
Although those studies referenced five-minute delays in cord clamping, delays in cord clamping for even 90 seconds to 3 minutes can be a simple, free, and natural way to give your baby a better start on its first day of life. (What’s the rush, right?)
Delaying clamping has been notated to be instrumental in:
- Improving blood counts
- Reducing the chance of iron deficiency later
- Improving oxygen levels in the brain
- Reducing serious bacterial infections
- Stabilizing blood sugar levels
- Improving organ growth
Baby’s First Natural Stem Cell Transplant
Delayed cord clamping can also give your baby a once in a lifetime gift of rich, umbilical cord blood, packed with an assortment of powerful stem cells, which are still migrating from the placenta into the baby at the moment of birth.
Isn’t mother nature amazing?³
Birth Plan Decision
Cord Clamping
Will it be delayed or done right away? If delayed, how long ?
Who will cut the cord? Mom, Dad, Friend, Nurse, MD, You?
