By: Hettie Basil Lighttower
A reader wrote in: “Dear Hettie, a couple weeks ago you fascinated us with information about our belly buttons. I recently came across a current big topic of the umbilical cord. I was wondering what you know or have researched about the timing of when to cut the umbilical cord when a baby is born??”
This is interesting because I have read some information about this. Since this request I dove in a little deeper. But more interesting is that a close friend of mine received her very first grandchild this past weekend. The joyous part is it was a girl and born on January 25, which means she had exactly the same experience I did six years ago. I received MY first grandchild on January 25 and mine was a girl. How’s that for being close friends and in sync?
Mother and daughter (and father) are all doing well and the experience was fairly routine without complications thankfully. I did not, however, inquire about their decision about the umbilical cord connective longevity.
So, this question of, “How soon do you snip or disconnect the baby from the umbilical cord?” is a scientific debate and mostly NOT a personal choice these days. The term for this discussion or decision is called “delayed cord clamping”. The typical term is “early cord clamping”. I had my kids around 30 years ago and this subject was never mentioned or discussed with me. I never knew I had a choice and I never knew the benefits pros and cons of one way or the other. And I don’t even know what the hospital’s protocol or policy on such procedure was or is. But each facility has such policy. After reading this you may want to familiarize yourself or child-bearing loved ones with local policies or philosophies.
From what I understand now, this concept of delayed cord clamping has been discovered and discussed since early in the 19th century and it began in England. But who knows? This might be ancient indigenous wisdom that is hidden and not readily available information on the internet. If you know something about this, please share. Are you an obstetrician doctor or nurse? I honestly can’t imagine this is such a new concept and discussion. Babies have been born for a VERY long time! There are a lot of hidden truths and remedies that have just been that or simply forgotten or perhaps discarded as “old ways” and new ways have taken their place.
There are certain benefits to waiting two to three minutes to clamp and cut the cord. You see, there is still circulation going on from the placenta to the baby which means blood and necessary nutrients are still being pumped into the newborn via the cord. As a matter of fact, the cord is pulsating and will stop pulsating at a certain point when it is finished supplying all there is to give to the baby. Then at this point is when clamping and cutting should take place for optimal placenta transfusion. Otherwise, the iron supply in the umbilical cord ready to be infused and needed to last for the first six to eight months of the baby’s life will have been destroyed and discarded. (Although destroyed and discarded is another subject for another day. It’s more like confiscated)
How many times have you heard of infants needing iron fortified formula? This is one way to prevent that dilemma. The importance of delayed clamping is particularly relevant in low-resource settings where less iron-rich foods are available in certain regions world-wide. It prevents anemia cases. This lowers widespread health problems in children. Globally, an estimation of 273 million children under the age of five in the year 2011 were anemic. Just under half of those individuals were a direct cause of iron deficiency. When children have periods of rapid growth especially in the first two years they have an increased need for iron.
While developing motor skills, language skills and coordination iron deficiency delays these developments. The optimal timing of clamping the umbilical cord directly effects the head start they get with psychomotor development. Experimental data suggests impairments occurring at an early age may even be irreversible.
Look at all the children you know and have known over time who have had developmental problems; either slow language development or motor skills. I wonder how many could have had a better childhood and a quicker acclamation to life had we only let that cord of life pulsate for them until it was finished and emptied. I wish I had known about this subject 30 years ago. I feel like I did my kids a disservice by not knowing.
Most cords are cut within the first 30 seconds or one minute after birth. But the timing of that also correlates to the need for or timing of neonatal resuscitation. About 25% of neonatal deaths globally are caused by failure to sustain breathing at birth. Whether or not the umbilical cord should be clamped or not during resuscitation remains to be certain.
Delayed cord clamping decreases the need for blood transfusions due to anemia or low blood pressure and also decreases the need for mechanical ventilation. It increases hemoglobin levels, blood pressure, hematocrit, cerebral oxygenation and red blood cell flow. Let’s do better for the babies. It doesn’t cost anything to take an extra couple minutes for them to get what’s theirs so they can live their best life.
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