Baby on chest OR delaying cord clamping ... have to pick one? - Page 2

[sharr610]

Originally Posted by chattyprincess

I DO find it intresting that the doc seems to think the baby will get no blood from the PULSING cord if laid on the stomach...sometimes I do not think medical professionals think before they say things...

I think they think about it, but think that we won't pick up on it....

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by NSmomtobe

In the end, delayed clamping was not an option for me because apparently there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, so my son had to be suctioned by the NICU team at birth, which meant immediate clamping and delayed skin-to-skin.

I don't undestand that either, sigh. I mean, I know that they will do it like that, but is there a real reason they have to take the baby AWAY to do it? Are they so inefficient at suctioning that it has to be done on a table well away from you?

Does it make sense to take a meconium baby off of life support, so to speak (cutting the cord)?

I know my homebirth midwife could have managed to suction the baby on my chest if need be (she didn't, but I'm just saying I'm certain she was capable of it). Why a doctor would not be, is beyond me.

[Juvysen]

This would make me wonder how misinformed my OB is in other areas... and make me veeeery leary to have such a person "in charge" at my birth.

[NSmomtobe]

Originally Posted by laohaire

I don't undestand that either, sigh. I mean, I know that they will do it like that, but is there a real reason they have to take the baby AWAY to do it? Are they so inefficient at suctioning that it has to be done on a table well away from you?

This was done in the same room, at least, but far enough away that I couldn't see what they were doing (I did get to watch them cut the cord and carry him over there). He was placed on my chest (briefly) when the NICU team was done with him. I didn't get to breastfeed him until after I was stitched up, which took an hour and a half.

Originally Posted by laohaire

Does it make sense to take a meconium baby off of life support, so to speak (cutting the cord)?

I was wondering about this too, but I knew I was in no position to argue against hospital policy at that point. High risk babies do not have the option of delayed clamping (because apparently it prevents them from getting the help they need in time).

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by NSmomtobe

I was wondering about this too, but I knew I was in no position to argue against hospital policy at that point.

Oh, I KNOW.

I had a homebirth but admitted DD to the hospital for jaundice 3 days later. The hospital is a scary place, and it would be beyond me to have been making demands with all that hustle and bustle. I'm sure they had the cord clamped and cut before you could have even said "Wha..?" even if you had superwoman guts to argue with them, and even if you weren't worried about your baby which obviously you were.

[NSmomtobe]

Since I did research this extensively, I will say that I did see evidence that gravity can (and does) affect the blood flow from the placenta to baby and vice versa, but I don't think that putting the baby on the chest counts as lifting it high enough above the placenta.

Here are some of the links I looked at:
http://onyx-ii.com/birthsong/page.cfm?cord
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0415194222.htm
http://magazine.lamaze.org/BuildingC...lt.aspx#expert

[mediumcrunch]

At least 3, maybe 4 of my babies went straight to my chest (I grow ridiculously long cords for some reason) after birth with no cord cutting. Their cords were cut a few minutes later. No harm to babies or me.

[CamoShades]

Thanks for all the great information, ladies!

And JenBuckyfan, thanks for the links to the studies. I will share them with my OB at my next appointment. She's a reasonable woman, so I don't think she'll give me a hard time. And if she does, I'll just drop the subject for now and then demand at my baby's birth that she do what I want.

[Youngfrankenstein]

Well at my recent hb, I pushed the baby out on hands and knees, the mw passed her into my arms through my legs, people helped me sit back up on the birthstool, then eventually escorted me to lay down in the bed to deliver the placenta. I did this all while holding the baby with the placenta inside.

That was about 15 mins time from birth to laying down. Honestly, I think the cord was cut 20 mins or so after birth. There was never any rush or mention of it.