cord blood banking (cross posting in April DDC)

[AbbieB]

I am currently 11+ weeks pregnant with my 3rd child.

My 2nd child has ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia). Today while at his regular oncology appointment, I mentioned to the doctor that I was pregnant and she immediately suggested that we should seriously consider cord blood banking. Her reasoning was that should DS relapse, should he need bone marrow treatment, a sibling's cord blood could save his life.

No pressure there .

The thing is, I am planning a home birth, my 3rd. We have practiced delayed cord clamping with both of my births. I strongly believe that the cord blood belongs to the baby, and I want my baby to receive all of the benefits of being allowed to fully absorb all of he blood that is available to him/her. I believe early cord clamping can lead to health concerns for a new born, jaundice and anemia immediately spring to mind. I also worry about an early cord clamp for my health too. I have already had one PPH, an early cord clamp is a risk factor for PPH and boy I do not want to go through that again!

Another thing is, there is no doubt in my mind that planning a hospital birth is a one way ticket to a c-section. No guessing or assuming, both of my previous births would have been a c-section had I been in a traditional, mainstream birthing environment.

Since we have a child with a cord blood treatable disease, cord blood banking is available to us for free for 5 years. So cost is not a factor in any way.

I feel the issue comes down to balancing the real risks to the new baby, the real risks to me, and the possible future benefits to DS. How in the heck is a mother suppose to make this decision?

Any thoughts, insights, experiences, or opinions would be appreciated.

[LiLStar]

Have you talked to your midwife about it? I think cord blood banking is available for home birth, you would just need a kit for it. I don't know much about cord blood banking and how much blood is required, but I think it might be possible to delay clamping and still "milk" a bit of blood out of the cord. Maybe your midwife can help you accomplish the best of both worlds