The Benefits of Delayed Cord Clamping

Preparing for birth can seem overwhelming, especially if it is your first time! It seems like there are so many decisions to make about every aspect of your care, labor, and your child’s care. One of the things to think about is what happens right after your baby enters the world. In the past few decades, the norm in the labor community has been to clamp the babies umbilical cord within 15 to 20 seconds of the delivery, but recently more and more parents have been asking for something called delayed cord clamping. This would postpone the clamping of the babies umbilical cord anywhere from 1 minute to 5 ( some people choose to keep the baby attached longer, even waiting until the cord dries up and detaches itself also know as a lotus birth, but there are no studies that show there are any benefits to leaving the cord attached that long, and lotus birth can cause sepsis.) But leaving your baby attached to the umbilical cord for just a few minutes until the cord stops pulsing has many documented benefits including increased hemoglobin levels at birth, and improved iron levels for the first several months. This might even help improve developmental outcomes. The benefits for premature babies include better circulation, better establishment of a red blood cell volume, and a decreased need for blood transfusions (ACOG). The American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also states that delayed cord clamping doesn’t raise the risk of postpartum hemorrhage or the need for a blood transfusion. So while you are working on your birth plan, consider asking your doctor or midwife to wait a few minutes before cord clamping, and of course if you have any questions, ask your doctor, midwife or doula!

Sources - https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2020/12/delayed-umbilical-cord-clamping-after-birth#:~:text=on%20developmental%20outcomes.-,Delayed%20umbilical%20cord%20clamping%20is%20associated%20with%20significant%20neonatal%20benefits,necrotizing%20enterocolitis%20and%20intraventricular%20hemorrhage.

https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/7d26c770-9670-4f37-9e8a-2ca0f4061662/Lotus+Birth+brochure_V1_0.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-7d26c770-9670-4f37-9e8a-2ca0f4061662-n.tPTYf