Talk to me about delayed cord cutting.

[liliaceae]

I would like to delay clamping and cutting the umbilical cord until it stops pulsating, but I'm not sure how this works logistically. How long does it take to stop pulsating? Is the cord always long enough so that the baby can be placed comfortably on the mother's chest? How would this work with a water birth? I'd especially love to hear from mamas who have had a water birth with delayed cord cutting. Thanks!

[groovynaturemama]

i'm an apprentice midwife and have seen delayed cord clamping at every birth i've been to so far. from what i've seen, the cord will stop pulsing usually before 10 minutes after birth, just before/around the time the placenta comes off the uterine wall. as far as a short cord goes, yeah, there are babies with really short cords and i've seen where the baby could go no further than mom's thighs, but we stil delayed cutting the cord before it was done pulsing, and usualy wait until the placenta is out in most instances. i've yet to see it, but if a cord around baby's neck cannot be undone, i believe there is the chance that it will have to be cut as the baby is birthed, depending on cord length and other factors. as far as water birth is concerned, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference; the baby is in the water (head above water, of course) with a towel over their body, and is usually at the mom's belly/chest. we typically will help the mom out of the tub for the placenta delivery, and we cut the cord once the placenta is out. hth

[Belle]

nak
Water birth momma here. We cut the cord after the placenta was born. held dd on my chest until then. Cord was wrapped around her neck twice and it was easily unwrapped before she was brought to the surface.

[MegBoz]

Originally Posted by liss_420

yeah, there are babies with really short cords and i've seen where the baby could go no further than mom's thighs, but we stil delayed cutting the cord before it was done pulsing, and usualy wait until the placenta is out in most instances.

Hmm... in that case, the mom couldn't BF in order to help birth the placenta.

So I wonder what is the higher priority: BF or wait for the cord to stop pulsing? I suppose it would vary by situation. In my case, the placenta came out quickly, but my MW wanted me to BF immediately because she was worried about some retained membrane. She watched to see if DS would (he wasn't interested at all - just stared at me!) so she gave me a choice between pitocin IV or IM (intra-muscular - a shot in the thigh.)

[cottonwood]

How long does it take to stop pulsating?

I think usually minimum is a few minutes. We waiting around 20 minutes before we cut because we wanted to be sure the placenta had detached before fooling with anything.

Is the cord always long enough so that the baby can be placed comfortably on the mother's chest?

No. But as long as the mother hasn't been immobilized, she can sit up and cradle her baby in her lap.

How would this work with a water birth? I'd especially love to hear from mamas who have had a water birth with delayed cord cutting.

I just held the baby as I stepped out of the tub, with someone there to help steady me. After another birth (not a waterbirth) I walked clear across the house with the baby attached. If you can walk, it's definitely do-able.

Originally Posted by liss_420

i'm an apprentice midwife and have seen delayed cord clamping at every birth i've been to so far.

Or, how about: "I have not seen premature cord clamping at any birth so far." (My point is that labeling it as "delayed" implies that it's not the natural default.)

i've yet to see it, but if a cord around baby's neck cannot be undone, i believe there is the chance that it will have to be cut as the baby is birthed, depending on cord length and other factors.

With a short cord that restricts the head moving away from the mother's body, the baby can and should be somersaulted out rather than cutting the cord.

[callieollie]

I didn't end up having a water birth (they drained the water as I was pushing, not sure why!), but I did birth in the bath tub. I was able to hold her up to my chest while I sat there and could easily nurse her. I cut the cord probably 30 minutes after she was born. The midwife kept checking and seemed surprised when she said "it's still pulsating" so I don't know if mine pulsated for an unusually long time or what. So we cut the cord and shortly after that I delivered the placenta.

[annekh23]

I had a fairly medicalised birth with my 2nd, but having had instant clamping and syntometrine IM (a mix they use in the uk, pit along with ergometrine) and had a bad reaction, I made sure that I knew enough to know when it was ok to say no, even if medically they recommended it, which is exactly what happened and we were confident in saying NO, you only give it if there becomes a clear need, not just because x happened yesterday.

When she was finally born, I was sidelying, I moved my hands down to catch her, with umpteen spectators watching to see there was no hands on intervention needed, I lifted her on to my chest, offered the breast, but she wasn't interested, just nuzzled a bit.

About 25 minutes later, I was finally ready to let someone else have a look in and suggested we see if the placenta was ready to be delivered, plopped it out into a bucket with a bit of a cough and bearing down. Only then did we clamp and cut the cord, though really clamping wasn't necessary. Blood loss was recorded at 250ml - very little.

Breastfeeding helps, but isn't crucial most placentas detach naturally very quickly, when they don't breastfeeding might make the difference. Sometimes it's detached fine, but the mum has trouble getting it out, breastfeeding should then cause some contractions that can give the help you need.

[nalo]

We tried for a water birth - I was in the tub for hours - but "little miss two fists on the sides of her head" was quite stuck and I had to get onto the bed so my MW's could try to figure out what was going on. Anyhow, once she was born she was placed on my belly and we were just staring at her and touching her while the MW's just watched my yoni and the cord. Once it finally stopped pulsing they clamped and cut it (DH was scared to do it). My primary MW has been in practice over 10 years and was absolutely stunned at how short DD's umbilical cord was - the shortest she had ever seen. So...even a short cord can have delayed clamping with babe on your belly - just not up too high on your torso. I think her cord stopped pulsing after maybe 10 minutes???? It's all such a blur in terms of the timeline.