? re: delayed cord cutting

[jee'smom]

i've decided to delay cord clamping/cutting until after placenta birth (or at least until cord stops pulsating- how long does that take?) anyway, i always heard baby needs to be below level of placenta for blood to transfuse, but i thought i'd be holding and nursing him. it doesn't make sense to me taht he needs to be below the level of the placenta being that it's pulsating. any thoughts? tia!
keri

[Azreial]

From what I understand, the baby should be level with or below the level of to get the most benefit. I really don't think you could be nursing while the cord is still attached its just not that long. After ds was born the placed him on my squishy (ahhh memories...) belly and I tried to scoot him up a bit closer and I couldn't because the cord was not long enough

[mamabeca]

It does take a while to deliver the placenta, usually 15 - 30 minutes, sometimes longer. The cord usually will pulse for about 10 minutes, give or take, so in general you''ll nurse him before the placenta is delivered, which is good because nursing him will help deliver the placenta. However, it will also depend on other things, like whether the delivery is at all compromised by the cord around his neck etc. which may resultin immediate clamping for his own safety...it's good to have a plan, but keep your expectations light...

[Malama]

I don't think you should worry about where the baby is going to be (i.e. below the level or whatever). There is a lot of pressure in the cord, and when you're talking about holding the baby after birth (which makes A LOT more sense than holding it below the level of the placenta), blood is still getting to the baby.

Cords come in all different lengths and it's certainly possible to bf while baby and placenta are still attached.... just depends on how long it is. And I haven't seen a whole lotta babies who wanna nurse instantly.

Cords generally stop pulsing majorly fairly soon (within a few minutes- to maybe 10 after birth) but I've felt cords have a beat even after the placenta is out- like even 30+ minutes later.