A very odd question

[NJ*Doula]

But I figure if anyone will know, a midwife will!

Why is is that when people give birth, the cord must be clamped before it is cut (I assume the risk is that mom or baby will bleed out through the cord) but when animals give birth, they chomp the cord right off with their teeth and everything is fine? I know that if clamping is delayed enough it isn't really necessary because the cord blood will dry up and plus the cord, but I'm talking about immediate cutting, with about a half hour.

[Marlet]

not a birth proffessional but my thinking is outside of lotus birthing some sort of clamping is ideal because of how long it would take to truely not have blood flow. we wated an hour before cutting dd2's cord (uc birth) aand we tied it off with some wool yarn and it still bled.

that said, i didnt want to. i figure the blood flow is beneficial for some reason or it would stop immediatey/within a time frame yk? if we have another we wont clamp/tie.

eta: go check out the uc forum. there have been a few discussions over there about it, some good info there!

[mamabadger]

The cord only "needs" to be clamped because hospitals cut the cord immediately after the birth, which is a bad idea.

Once the placenta is delivered, there is still a slight trickle of blood in the cord. If the cord is left alone for about 45 minutes or so after the end of third stage, you can cut the cord without clamping, because there is no more blood flow. The birth centre where I worked never used a clamp, they just wrapped the afterbirth in a plastic bag and waited an hour before cutting. Animals never try to bite through the cord until after the placenta is out.

[pigpokey]

Originally Posted by GathererGirl

they chomp the cord right off with their teeth and everything is fine?

I'm not sure they do it right away.

Human babies placentas do not usually shut down until right after birth, but it seems to be thought (among people who care, not MDs) that the placenta gives one final push before it quits and send most of the blood into the baby. The cord gets limp and white then, and gradually the baby shuts down the connection to the cord, but it takes a while to be done completely. How long until the umbilicus stops pulsing, 1-3 hours? Still if you look at a baby with a newly clamped cord right after birth, you'll see that there's not much blood in the cord. I do not think a baby could have a major hemorrhage after receiving the placental transfusion because the shut-down has already started.

[MsBlack]

Yes, animals do chomp the cord very soon (the ones I've watched give birth), except for those where it simply breaks during delivery (horses, goats). However, as with humans, mammal circulatory system is designed so that the umblilical route of the blood is shut off at birth (and starts going to the lungs instead)....and this does not always work as well as it should. I saw a newborn kitten who'd bled to death from his stump, once, within a few minutes of cord chewing by his momma. I think we humans tend to clamp the cord as a 'backup' in case that circulatory change does not happen as soon, or as completely, as it needs to. However, if you wait 2-3 hrs to cut cord, then Wharton's Jelly will have formed in cord (thick jelly), which will prevent umbilical bleeding anyway.

Also, long ago, I was taught to clamp the mother's side of the cord at cutting time, just in case there was an undiagnosed twin on the same placenta--clamping would prevent a bleedout for that baby. Never have seen this come true...but well, you never know. !

[Jane]

I was taught to clamp and cut to protect a known twin, not for bleed-out reasons (except in cases of TTTS, they should have separate circulations), but to keep the placenta fully and juicy and hopefully, attached! Same difference, though. Interesting how the same information is given different justifications.

You can cut the cord after it's clamped itself and it's usually not a problem. Someone said the "self attachement" breastfeeding video had an unclamped, but cut, cord.

I like to clamp b/c I guess the baby could have a clotting problem or something and I don't want them to lose any more blood than neccesary. It can come off at 24 hours, though, to avoid the extra bulk of the clamp.

Something I learned on MDC from our great Pets forum, that dogs and cats have their placentas detach before birth - it's part of having litters and a straight-shot pelvis, but kittens just aren't capable of surviving delayed passage in the canal. Human babies are meant to thrive even with long, complicated maneuvers required by our funky pelvises, as their placentas stay working until the job is definitely completed.

[CarolynnMarilynn]

Human babies only have about a cup of blood *total*. That means that if there is any bleeding from the cord, their blood volume can be compromised quickly. The vessels at the cord stump are large, and if there is anything preventing them from being completely occluded, such as delayed transitioning or a blood clotting issue, then they might bleed out enough to be life-threatening, or less than ideal. The cord clamp is a fail safe. It also depends on how short the stump is left, the longer the stump, the less chance of bleeding. Also, a little bit of bleeding from the cord over time can add up to a significant volume. More than a few drops of blood is too much. The point of delayed cord clamping is to save blood volume, not clamping the cord could result in losing some of that precious blood. Keeping the placenta attached to the baby poses little or no risk of bleeding as it is a closed system, which is a great benefit of lotus birth.

In animals, the cord is crushed when bitten, allowing natural clotting processes to happen. Simply cutting the cord doesn't do this to the same extent. Also, animals seem to leave the cord relatively long, at least for a bit. If the cord is chewed too close to the belly, the baby animal is at a high risk for bleeding out.

If cord clamps seem too intrusive, there are cord bands. Dental floss can actually cut right through the cord when used tight enough to clamp the cord. The clamping device, and cutting device, should be sterile, as bacteria can enter through the cord until it is dry and hard.

One big component of why the cord is so big and juicy is the Wharton's Jelly surrounding the cord which diminishes rapidly after birth. The pale, floppy cord may still have vessels patent enough for blood flow for several hours after the birth: one can catheterize the umbilical cord for *hours* after the birth if the stump is left long enough if venous access is needed in emergency.

I would also venture a guess that the mortality rate for birthing animals and their little birthlings is much higher than we would accept for humans today.