Have you heard of delayed cord clamping? During pregnancy, the umbilical cord is literally baby’s lifeline. The cord goes from baby to the attachment position of the placenta, carrying blood, nutrients, and oxygen from parent to child. It is made up of two arteries and one vein which are all surrounded by Wharton’s jelly.
Delayed cord clamping is simply the act of not clamping or cutting the umbilical cord until at least one full minute after giving birth (though most that choose to delay do so for at least 3-5 minutes). Some parents choose to delay cutting until after the placenta is delivered and the cord no longer pulsating (also referred to as a lotus birth)—allowing the entire delivery process to complete without interruption/intervention.
Why delay, you say? Those first few moments in the outside world are unlike anything your baby has ever experienced – it’s the first time they’ve ever had to breathe on their own. Nature’s response is to give your baby a final surge of extra blood from the placenta so that their little heart can direct 50% of its’ output to the lungs. This extra push helps their lungs to adjust.
📷: @katie.gong ✨
Because delaying the clamping of the cord allows more blood to transfer from the placenta to the infant, baby’s blood volume can increase by up to a third. The iron in the blood increases which is essential for healthy brain development. Some studies even show that a couple of extra minutes attached to the umbilical cord at birth may translate into a small boost in neurodevelopment several years later.
While waiting for the cord blood + nutrients to pump through, its a perfect time for focus on skin to skin bonding (aka the golden hour) and for initiating breastfeeding.
I encourage you to talk about delayed cord clamping with your doula, midwife, birth partner, and doctors so that you can make the right choice for your and your baby. Life happens and it’s not possible to do it in every circumstance, so know that immediate cord clamping is still safe for you + baby.