leaving cord intact after delivery can be harmful to baby??

[nick&jonmom]

We were interested in collecting the cord blood but I had wanted to leave baby attatched as long as possible so asked my caretakeer her opinion. I was told that there is no real benefit to leaving the cord attatched after delivery and in fact that if the baby's blood type is different then mom's it will actually cause more harm then good. I am type O and dh is type A so our baby could be either and O blood carries anti-A antigens so if baby is A it could be bad for him/her. Anyone have any info/exp with this topic. Now I'm not even concerned with collecting the cord blood or not, I'm just feeling very confused about cutting the cord right away or leaving it intact for a while. WDYT??

[mysticmomma]

you can't do both. cord needs to be clamped/cut immediately for cord banking.

[ACsMom]

Huh???!!! Wonder where she is coming from on that one. It's actually good for the baby to get as much of the cord blood as possible before you clamp it off. It's the baby's blood in there, not yours, plus lots of stem cells and other stuff that contributes to the baby's well-being.

Here's a link that talks about the benefits of delayed clamping:

http://www.empoweredchildbirth.com/a...h/noclamp.html

Even if you're going to bank the blood, you can probably wait a minute or so to let the baby get some of the blood, and still have enough to bank. That's what my midwife does with her clients and she's never had a situation where she wasn't able to get enough cord blood out to bank.

[fruitfulmomma]

Well, that's a new one. Total rubbish, along with the "baby will lose all the blood when it rushes back into momma" or "baby will get too much blood" theories. Your baby needs that blood!!!



http://www.midwiferytoday.com/enews/enews0130.asp - Scroll down a little ways - Gloria Lemay notes that "4. In Rh negative women, many believe it is the clamping of a pulsing cord that causes the blood of the baby to transfuse into the bloodstream of the mother, causing sensitization problems."

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/enews/enews0343.asp - Clamping early can result in your child losing up to half their blood volume.

[deny_zoo29]

I can tell you that I had that same issue with my mother. She has O blood, Dad has A+ blood my brother and I (two separate pregnancies) also have A+ blood. I actually became very sick after birth and required two blood transfusions within the first week of my life because of the blood type differences! Becuase I had the issues they were able to get a better jump on it with my younger brother and he didn't have the issues I had.

I have heard that it is good for the cord to stop pulsing before it is cut, but since you are cord blood banking I would talk to the bank and see what they say or check online and print something off and take to your doc that says the contrary to what she said and discuss it again.

[Kidzaplenty]

Having blood incompatibilities I don't think can be linked in any way to the length of time between birth and clamping. If there are O/AB incompatibilities, they are already there and will manifest after the birth, if not before. At least that is the way I understand it.

[heymama1plus1]

Originally Posted by Kidzaplenty

Having blood incompatibilities I don't think can be linked in any way to the length of time between birth and clamping. If there are O/AB incompatibilities, they are already there and will manifest after the birth, if not before. At least that is the way I understand it.

I second that. I'm a NICU nurse, and I see babies with blood type incompatability in utero, so it obviously happens before birth.

If you are dead set on banking, though, you may want to clamp right away. I was going to donate my cord blood to a cord blood bank, so I tried to have the best of both worlds (wait until it was done pulsing, then clamp and collect) and my midwife couldn't get enough. I was a little bummed. Wanted it to be her first blood donation I was glad I waited, though. My son was the standard clamp: jaundiced as a NB and anemic as a toddler. My daughter: delayed clamp, no jaundice or anemia. Hmmm.......

HTH!

[NSmomtobe]

Blood type is determined at conception, but I think what people are trying to suggest is that problems with incompatibility can occur if the cord is left too long? Hmm... I've heard that when the baby has A or B blood and the mother has type O, it can lead to jaundice in the newborn, but that had nothing to do with timing of clamping. According to my doula, there is good evidence that delayed clamping significantly reduces risk of anemia in the baby, but has an unclear effect on jaundice.

My doula recently attended a birth in which the couple requested delayed cord clamping and immediate skin-to-skin contact post-birth. The doctor said, "Which do you want because you can't have both." They were stunned to be told this and asked why. The doctor said something about the baby having to be held below the mother until the cord is cut and it was implied that this was to keep blood from somehow running in the wrong direction. They were too shocked to argue, having not prepared for this argument, but now the doula is trying to find evidence to present to the doctor that contradict these concerns.

I hope to talk to my doctor about it this afternoon.

[aramat]

This is all crazy-talk and voodoo! Especially about baby needing to be lower than mom if cord isn't cut. Some say baby has to be higher! MAYBE it's true after the cord has stopped pulsating? But definitely not before.

Baby benefits from receiving his full blood supply at birth. The cord blood is baby's blood.

Cord blood banking is a profitable business.

[Mary-Beth]

We let the cord stop pulsating then clamped and cut the cord. No problems with blood. It is the baby's blood pumping into the baby. It is natures design.

And, I gave birth sitting up in the bathtub and held the baby on my chest...so baby can have immediate skin contact, be born in water, and delay the cord clamp all at the same time!

[ratrodgrl]

I was just talking to a lady who does research on cord banking. I told her we don't want to clamp right away, and want to wait til the cord stops pulsing. She said usually collecting it within 10-15 minutes is sufficient, but you may run into the problem of the PP who said there wasn't enough blood in the cord for collection. I'd talk to the cord bank place and get this clarified. By the way, this is a helpful resource if you want to check out more than one cord bank:
http://parentsguidecordblood.org/

[tmareeh]

Both of my children were born with ABO incompatability (Coombs positive). I am O-, and they are A-. It is not related to Rh incompatibility. It causes jaundice in the baby. Both of my children were on bili lights within the first 24 hours. Many peds will also suggest supplementation, if you are breastfeeding.

I'm now pg with my third and researching this topic. I have also been hearing that clamping the cord immediately can help. I have not been able to find any definitive information.

[laohaire]

From what I've read, it is possible to wait until the cord stops pulsating and also collect cord blood, but it seems like it's not likely to work. Possible, but probably you won't get enough.

We gave it a try and got no blood whatsoever. (A midwife and two nurses tried, so it wasn't human error either - there was nothing). I have to say, I'm glad my baby got it all.

So my advice is to decide which is more important to you. I personally feel that the blood belongs to the baby, and that a newborn is among the worst candidates for blood donation. But I can also see how some people with specific concerns may choose to bank. However, make sure you still research if you have specific concerns, so you don't make your choice based on bad assumptions (for example, if certain conditions run in your family and you bank because you're afraid your baby might develop it, the baby's blood might not even be usable in such an event - just as an example).

Forgot to add: Most private cord banking companies will refund you minus a basic fee if you end up not being able to get enough blood. I think this fact is important because I hope it will help people choose to let the baby get his or her blood, and then just see if there's enough to bank. Since the deposit is over $1k, I can see why people would be very anxious to ensure they get the blood, but most companies will refund you the money minus a reasonable initial processing fee (for the equipment they sent you and time spent) if it doesn't work out. So you'll be out, say, $100, which may be a small enough amount for you to be able to relax about it. Of course check with the company before proceeding.

[Hesperia]

I'm not sure if this has been said yet (using my cell), but from what I know, the cord blood can be collected via syringe while the cord is attached. Simply insert it into a pulsing vein, take what they need, and leave the rest.

I'd ask your provider again about this option.

[heymama1plus1]

I also was glad that my DD got all her blood. To this day she was a rosier complexion than her older brother! If I was banking for personal reasons, I might've been more diligent about getting the cord blood.

ps-- if anyone is interested in donating cord blood, this is who I went through:
http://www.cryo-intl.com/
No cost, they mail a home kit. They didn't charge me anything or give me grief about not being able to use all the supplies they sent. They're affiliated with American Association of Blood Banks and the National Bone Marrow Donor Program, so I felt comfortable using them. I first heard about them b/c the only place where I live that takes donations is at a hospital and I birthed at home.

[ursusarctos]

Originally Posted by NSmomtobe

My doula recently attended a birth in which the couple requested delayed cord clamping and immediate skin-to-skin contact post-birth. The doctor said, "Which do you want because you can't have both." They were stunned to be told this and asked why. The doctor said something about the baby having to be held below the mother until the cord is cut and it was implied that this was to keep blood from somehow running in the wrong direction.

WTH? I guess my baby brother pinking up nicely as my mom held him on her chest with the cord still attached for 10 minutes was just luck then Has this doctor also suggested using leeches to get rid of the bad blood when you're sick?

[nick&jonmom]

Originally Posted by heymama1+1

I second that. I'm a NICU nurse, and I see babies with blood type incompatability in utero, so it obviously happens before birth.

If you are dead set on banking, though, you may want to clamp right away. I was going to donate my cord blood to a cord blood bank, so I tried to have the best of both worlds (wait until it was done pulsing, then clamp and collect) and my midwife couldn't get enough. I was a little bummed. Wanted it to be her first blood donation I was glad I waited, though. My son was the standard clamp: jaundiced as a NB and anemic as a toddler. My daughter: delayed clamp, no jaundice or anemia. Hmmm.......

HTH!

I'm the OP and just wanted to mention that my dr said that delayed cutting can actually cause jaundice. It seemss like she has her facts mixed up but she was so adimit that leaving it intact does more harm then good and she wishes that everyone would get their facts straight. It's like she's trying to educate me on things that she considers to be myths.
I'm a little worried about arguing this with her like maybe she's going to change her attitude towards me and I dont' feel I have too many options of dr.s here that will let me have the birth I want....limited monitoring, my choice birth positions (inc water birth), no pitocin, longer then "normal" (for a hospital) labor after water breaks (36 hours instead of the standard 12), etc...but I guess I need to start loking around, I don't want to have a dr that I'm uncomfortable being myself around.

[Asiago]

I don't know pertaining to the banking question but a friend delivered her own grandchild with the 911 operator on the phone. She was told to leave the cord alone until paramedics arrived and that the cord could be left as is for up to 40 minutes.

I am just repeating her story, I don't know if it is medically correct or not.

[NSmomtobe]

Originally Posted by ursusarctos

WTH? I guess my baby brother pinking up nicely as my mom held him on her chest with the cord still attached for 10 minutes was just luck then Has this doctor also suggested using leeches to get rid of the bad blood when you're sick?

Ugh. I just asked my doctor about this this afternoon and she said the same thing: that the baby has to be kept below the level of placenta in order to prevent blood from flowing in the wrong direction. She also said that there were no benefits to the baby and increased risk of hemorrhage for the mother with delayed clamping--not to mention the necessary delay of skin-to-skin contact and its benefits.

Now I need to step up my efforts to help my doula find info on this before my next appointment. I am disappointed. Is this worth looking for a new doctor over?

[womenswisdom]

Originally Posted by nick&jonmom

I'm the OP and just wanted to mention that my dr said that delayed cutting can actually cause jaundice. It seemss like she has her facts mixed up but she was so adimit that leaving it intact does more harm then good and she wishes that everyone would get their facts straight. It's like she's trying to educate me on things that she considers to be myths.

From my reading, your dr. is right that allowing the cord to stop pulsating can cause more jaundice. The question is whether this is a problem and whether the risk of jaundice outweighs the benefits to the baby. Many people don't believe the jaundice is usually a problem and that the benefits of the baby receiving all their blood greatly outweigh the risk of jaundice. Because the baby has all its red blood cells and the breakdown of red blood cells is what causes jaundice, a baby with its full blood volume may very well have a higher risk of jaundice. However, there is some evidence that jaundice that is not excessively high actually has a protective effect. I find it very difficult to believe that not immediately cutting the cord would truly increase a newborn's risk of serious illness or death, since that's really a relatively recent fixation. Traditionally, mothers were probably not doing so. You might look around for the studies Sarah Buckley references in her writing and bring them in to your doctor.

Originally Posted by Asiago

I don't know pertaining to the banking question but a friend delivered her own grandchild with the 911 operator on the phone. She was told to leave the cord alone until paramedics arrived and that the cord could be left as is for up to 40 minutes.

I am just repeating her story, I don't know if it is medically correct or not.

Well, I would think all the women who have a lotus birth would disagree that 40 minutes would be some kind of limit. My daughter's cord was cut at 8 hours and she is great!