Question about Delayed Cord Clamping

[MrsD08]

I'm filling out my labor and delivery preferences for my doula (yes, we're just TTC right now, but I'm a huge planner and I'd rather have these things figured out earlier than later).

When choosing delayed cord clamping or delayed cord cutting, is it typical to delay until cord has stopped pulsing? How long does that usually take?

Sorry if I sound ignorant. I'm new to this. My sister isn't into natural parenting/childbirth and she doesn't understand why I would want these things done. She thinks I should just let my OB (I'm not even having an OB, a midwife and a doula) plan everything and do whatever they say. I'm a little concerned about speaking up for myself, but I am confident I will be able to once I know all the information.

TIA!

[katelove]

Glad I'm not the only one I wrote my birth plan before we even started TTC!

Delayed cord clamping means waiting until the cord has stopped pulsing before applying the clamp. This allows the baby to get the full benefit from the blood flowing to them from the placenta. It also means that they still have an oxygen supply if they are a bit slow to take that first breath.

It usually takes a few minutes for the cord to stop pulsating.

If you Google delayed cord clamping you should be able to find plenty of resources which discuss the benefits.

Happy planning

[MrsD08]

Oh, only a few minutes. Totally worth it then. Thanks!

[AnnieNimIty]

Good for you for finding out the information beforehand. I know that if I didn't inform myself I would have been snowed by an obgyn I had briefly.
I was trying to talk to her about delaying the cord clamping and she told me that they didn't do that because they were worried that the blood would flow back OUT of the baby and it would bleed to death.
She was pretty much a liar or horribly misinformed. The cord will stop pulsing and close itself off, at which point they can clamp and cut.

[DogStar]

I just had my baby on Saturday, the chord took an hour to stop pulsing. My mw absolutely would not cut it till then, she said she usually waits an hour anyways. But I had a home water birth.

Absolutely make your own plan and dont let anyone tell you to leave it up to the doctors!

Sarah

[ExuberantDaffodil]

I didn't notice when the cord stopped pulsing, to be honest, but I do know it had stopped by the time the midwife came to my house (about 15 minutes or so after the baby was born) and had assessed me and the baby before clamping it.

[MammaG]

I waited until after the placenta delivered. It took somewhere close to half an hour I think. It's great to make sure your baby gets all the benefits of that rich last Mamma's nourishing blood. Almost nothing leaked out when we did cut it.....so different from my first child....a hospital birth where they cut the cord within minutes of birth....THAT was a mess....but we did have the opportunity to donate that time, which made us feel a bit better.

[Natsuki]

It only took 5ish minutes for DD's cord to stop pulsing.

Just 2 minutes of pulsing time gives the newborn an addition 2+ months of iron stores - that's amazing! Think of all the pressure moms are given as their babies approach 6 months of age "They need rice cereal, they need iron, they are going to lose their iron stores..." but if you wait to let the baby get that rich cord blood, the problem is eliminated b/c by the time a baby is 8-9 months they can feed themselves table food that is iron-rich and the cereal is a moot point. Nature is amazing .

[VeezieTG]

at our last birth we didn't cut the cord til about 1.5 hours later. i had time to lay in bed and nurse him twice with the placenta wrapped up in a separate blanket before we even talked about cutting... there are, of course, lotus birthers, who wait for the cord to detach itself.