If you’ve ever given birth, you may notice that most providers immediately clamp and cut your baby’s and umbilical cord after the baby is born. This has unfortunately become the norm. Immediate clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord as soon as the baby is born, has become a normal practice with most medical providers. That is why many people don’t understand the concept of delayed cord clamping.
There are several reasons why you should consider waiting to clamp and cut your babies umbilical cord. A few common questions I get surrounding delayed cord clamping are, “Why do people wait to cut the cord sometimes? Is there any benefit to that? And if there is, what are the benefits?” Here are those answers.
What is delayed cord clamping?
DCC is when the provider waits to clamp or cut the umbilical cord till the cord either stops pulsing (laying white and limp) or the placenta is delivered. As long as the placenta is still attached to mom, there is still blood pulsing into your baby.
Benefits of DCC
1. Cord Blood
When your baby is born, their body only contains about two thirds of their blood volume. Imagine walking around with my 2/3 of your blood in your body. That would be hard! Wouldn’t it? The same goes for your baby. The placenta and the umbilical cord contain all the rest of your baby’s blood, leaving the cord intact allows that blood to completely pump into your baby’s body.
This transfer of the babies blood takes about 5 to 30 minutes. When the cord is white and limp, and no longer pulsing, the cord is then okay to cut.
Cord blood also contains nutrients and stem cells that your baby needs for their future immune health and their iron stores. A baby’s chance of being anemic in the future goes down significantly when delayed cord clamping is implemented, and their iron stores are improved by 4-6 months of age.
Another benefit to keep in mind is that if your baby is premature, they may benefit from DCC even more than a full-term baby. Receiving a higher blood volume at birth can protect their organs and brain as they move forward in their development. Delayed cord clamping can also decrease the need for blood transfusions in preterm babies.
2. Oxygen Levels
As long as the cord is still connected to the placenta, and the placenta is still connected to your body, your baby will continue to receive oxygen through the cord. If your baby does not breathe in straight away after birth, that’s OK! The unclamped umbilical cord will continue supplying oxygen-rich blood and nutrients even before your baby takes their first breath.
If your baby does end up needing help to breathe after birth, it is usually possible for your medical provider to perform any necessary procedures while your baby is still attached to their umbilical cord. This would allow for them to still be getting oxygen while their first breaths are being coaxed into their bodies.
3. A Higher APGAR Score
Around 1 in 10 babies do not breathe sufficiently at birth. Leaving the cord attached to your baby allows for oxygen to travel through the cord into your baby until the cord is cut or the placenta is delivered. Cutting the cord quickly can result in a rapid increase in blood pressure and reduced oxygen supply to your baby’s organs.
Think about it: Your baby is trying to adjust to the world around him, and that includes breathing. Cutting the cord quickly can result in systemic vascular resistance. Because of this, there can be a very rapid increase in arterial pressure, reducing the supply of vital oxygen to the babies organs. Once the baby’s lungs fill with air, the blood flow will be redirected through the lungs and the left atrium in the heart will be supplied with sufficient blood to restore proper cardiac output.
As you can imagine, your babies APGAR score will probably be lower when their body is trying to overcompensate and make up for the loss of oxygen and blood flow in their bodies. Leaving the cord intact until it is done pulsing can result in a higher APGAR score as their bodies don’t need to work as hard.
Is delayed cord clamping always the best idea?
There are a few circumstances in birth where delayed cord clamping cannot be implemented. Sometimes there are issues with the baby that need to be addressed immediately or the mother needs to be taken care of quickly (because of something like postpartum hemorrhage). In these cases, it is not a good idea to try delayed cord clamping.
Many people think that they cannot ask for delayed clamping if they are having a c section. In some cases, that is true! But in other cases, its very possible for the doctors to hold your baby in such a way that they can still be attached to mom after they come out. Something you can ask your provider about is a “gentle c section“. DCC is much more likely to be possible in the case of a gentle c section. It can’t hurt to ask!
If you want your baby to have delayed cord clamping, make sure you have it in your birth plan and you speak with your doctor or Midwife before labor so they are well aware of your wishes surrounding the cord.
In conclusion,
This is yet another instance that proves that birth is not always a medical “issue”. Birth is not always something that needs to be fixed. It is most often a natural process, and sometimes (unless there is a previous medical issue) we should try and view birth with a more “hands-off” approach. Talk with your provider if this approach interests you. Delayed cord clamping can be such a beautiful thing!
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