cord cutting/care

[Illiana]

I know this is probably stupid but is there a right/wrong way to tie and cut the cord? I know you can use anything really to tie it and i have some dental floss set aside in my "birth kit" to use and will sterilize some scissors. But is there a specific distance from baby that its should be tied/cut? Or a specific distance from each tie?

I got some goldenseal to put on the stump to help it heal faster.. Do I put it on immediately after its cut or wait a while?

Thanks!

[kittywitty]

With #4, I cut about 2(?) inches from the body or so and clamped it. I tied mine with some sterile string I ordered. I also had pre-sterilized scissors, just in case. I used goldenseal the next day.

[corrio]

I didn`t pre-pair anything for my most recent UC wasnt sure if if was going to be a UC anyways,

when I was ready to cut the cord I told my husband to boil up some sissors (all we had was kitchen sissors) and told him to find something to tie the cord.. He came back with some nylon rope and the sissors.. We cut about two inches from the baby.. I`m not sure if my husband boiled the rope or not, I`m goign to have to ask on that but anyways his tie kept falling off, I really wouldnt have worried about it but it was bleeding abit not much just a few drops, I ended up finding some yellow ribbon and thats what we ended up using, It was intresting to watch the cord dry up and fall off which took about 3 1/2 days but the cord dried and the ribbon still held the orginal size.. so i could move the ribbon up and down.. I went to my husband about a week ago, my baby is 4 weeks old now and asked him why didnt you just use dental floss and he looked at me with a blank stare (like why didnt I think of that) It was priceless..

I love UC

[amandasemele]

With our last we waited 2 hours before cutting the cord, tied with dental floss about 2 inches from belly, fell off 2 days later!!

[Illiana]

thanks ladies.. I want to wait as long as possible before cutting the cord (well at least a couple of hours) but i don't know if DF will freak out once he actually sees it :P

Thanks ladies!

[basje]

fyi, if you're delaying clamping for an hour or so you don't really need to tie off as the blood will visibly drained and the purpose of tying is to cut off the blood so it doesn't leak everywhere. The main thing is to boil your scissors and it's helpful if they are sharp as the cord is a mealy, bit to get through. Also, this is likely common sense but if you have a nodule on the cord, cut above it or below it not through it.

PM if you want photos of what the tying and cutting should look like.

[MittensKittens]

Right - I waited until the cord had stopped pulsing and gone totally limp. Then, I cut it with a boiled knife, without clamping or tying. Cord clamps are mainly useful for premature cord clamping.

[corrio]

yah I tied off my end of the cord.. My placenta took a hour and a half to detach.. I needed the chance to move around to birth it..

[MsBlack]

These other fine women have covered cord tying and cutting, just want to mention 'cordstump treatment': NOTHING is best to put on the cord stump, in my experience.

Just let it have air, let it dry out thoroughly. Best not to get it wet in the first couple days, and be sure diaper is folded back away from it.

Cords that have stuff put on them--no matter what you put on them--tend to take longer to dry out and fall off. Not all of them, no--but every client who has called me to say 'baby's cord stump still hasn't fallen off (at a week or even 2wks pp) and now it's getting stinky', are parents who put something on the cord (alcohol, goldenseal, breastmilk, peroxide...). Nature has designed the system well! What is supposed to happen is that the stump dries out naturally from exposure to air--which usually happens within a day or 2, and stump falls off in 3-5 days most often (sometimes a day or 2 longer).

save your goldenseal and anything else for use only if the cord stump shows signs of being stinky or oozy. Even then, best to wipe it down with breastmilk or plain water, let it dry well, then apply the goldenseal. Putting anything on the stump just interferes with natural events needlessly...it's an intervention Interventions are best used as needed, not sooner.

[Illiana]

Originally Posted by MsBlack

These other fine women have covered cord tying and cutting, just want to mention 'cordstump treatment': NOTHING is best to put on the cord stump, in my experience.

Just let it have air, let it dry out thoroughly. Best not to get it wet in the first couple days, and be sure diaper is folded back away from it.

Cords that have stuff put on them--no matter what you put on them--tend to take longer to dry out and fall off. Not all of them, no--but every client who has called me to say 'baby's cord stump still hasn't fallen off (at a week or even 2wks pp) and now it's getting stinky', are parents who put something on the cord (alcohol, goldenseal, breastmilk, peroxide...). Nature has designed the system well! What is supposed to happen is that the stump dries out naturally from exposure to air--which usually happens within a day or 2, and stump falls off in 3-5 days most often (sometimes a day or 2 longer).

save your goldenseal and anything else for use only if the cord stump shows signs of being stinky or oozy. Even then, best to wipe it down with breastmilk or plain water, let it dry well, then apply the goldenseal. Putting anything on the stump just interferes with natural events needlessly...it's an intervention Interventions are best used as needed, not sooner.

Interesting.. with DD i never put anything on it.. I didn't know i was "supposed" to. I feel off by like day 4 or 5 i think. I was told by several people that putting the goldenseal powder on it would help it to fall off in a day or two..

Thanks everyone for all the info.

[5gifts]

For our 3 uc's - we tied the cord with string from the top of a feed bag....dog, horse, rabbit, whatever
It's just perfect! We boiled it & cut with a boiled, very sharp razor blade.

[Sheryl1678]

Originally Posted by basje

fyi, if you're delaying clamping for an hour or so you don't really need to tie off as the blood will visibly drained and the purpose of tying is to cut off the blood so it doesn't leak everywhere. The main thing is to boil your scissors ....

[Devaskyla]

Originally Posted by basje
fyi, if you're delaying clamping for an hour or so you don't really need to tie off as the blood will visibly drained and the purpose of tying is to cut off the blood so it doesn't leak everywhere. The main thing is to boil your scissors ....

Not entirely true. We left ds3's cord until it was white & limp & cold & he still bled from the cord stump until we quickly got a tie on it. I was told by someone on here that very rarely, it takes the baby's system longer to switch over to completely to normal circulation. I'd never go without tying off the cord before cutting again. It was incredibly terrifying seeing that blood coming out despite the amount of time we waited (at least an hour, probably closer to 2)

[MsBlack]

Originally Posted by Devaskyla

Not entirely true. We left ds3's cord until it was white & limp & cold & he still bled from the cord stump until we quickly got a tie on it. I was told by someone on here that very rarely, it takes the baby's system longer to switch over to completely to normal circulation. I'd never go without tying off the cord before cutting again. It was incredibly terrifying seeing that blood coming out despite the amount of time we waited (at least an hour, probably closer to 2)

You are right about this, and it's why I always tie off a cord before cutting it. At birth, or soon after, the bloodflow at the umbilicus is supposed to close off as the blood flow to the lungs commences (before birth, the heart does not pump blood to the lungs, it's not needed--that circulatory route is present but unused until baby breathes). In some babies, it can take days or even weeks before the umbilical route closes entirely--unusual, but it can happen.

And yes, a baby can lose a lot of blood pretty fast from the umbilicus; and baby's don't have all that much blood! Best to clamp, unless you're going to have a lotus birth.

[corrio]

Yes this is why I had to find a diffrent tie when my hubbies didnt stay on..

[Illiana]

Thanks for the info.. I'll def. tie it off.. just not comfortable not tieing it. but good to know there's a reason to do it even with delayed cutting..

[amberskyfire]

Your tie and your scissors do not really need to be sterilized. The tools are sterilized in hospitals because EVERYTHING is sterilized in hospitals.

If you think about it, it makes sense. Lots of things are going to be touching the cord stump, even if you are careful - diapers, clothing, hands and fingers, and even baby poop, most likely. So if nothing that touches the cord will be sterile, it seems kind of silly to make sure to sterilize the scissors, too. I wouldn't use dirty kitchen scissors that were used to trim fat off of pork chops or anything, but if you are in a pinch, you don't absolutely have to sterilize. To sterilize them, you can use boiling water or you can use a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol to rub the scissors down.

Be sure to use strong scissors. We bought a new pair for ours and they were kind of dinky. Cutting through the umbilical cord was like trying to cut through a bicycle tire. I tossed the little scissors over my shoulder and had DH bring me the kitchen scissors

You can use dental floss to tie the cord, but I have heard of a lot of moms having problem with it cutting through the umbilical cord when tied tight and it can bleed at the cut site. It's best to use something thicker if you have it. My midwives (I had them only for my prenatal care, not the birth) gave me a piece of hemp twine to use. You can also use a piece of ribbon or a brand-new shoelace. Braided yarn is also good.

Tie the cord one inch from baby and be sure you tie it super ultra tight. Put three knots in it so it doesn't loosen as baby wiggles around all day. I love the goldenseal powder. You can put it on immediately after. It's also great to use if you have a tear. It healed mine splendidly. It does sting, though, so be sure not to use it anywhere else on baby. Also, it stains like mad, so don't put any clothes that you really love on baby until you stop using it.