Cord clamping vs tying

[Pinky Tuscadero]

Has anyone opted to tie the cord with string rather than a plastic clamp? I'm thinking of using some surgical thread. It seems like it would be more comfortable for baby than that giant hunk of plastic.
Thoughts or experiences?

[alegna]

Our birth kit came with what was called something like cord tape. It was soft cotton string. I loved that it wasn't a hard plastic piece.

-Angela

[dogmom327]

My birth kit came with a small rubber band looking thing. Much nicer than the hard cold chunk of plastic.

[Belle]

Our midwives also used a small rubber band. It was much nicer than a giant hunk of plastic.

[lc81002]

We also had the small rubber band. It didn't get in the way at all.

[rootzdawta]

Awww man, I wish I had something to tie it off with. That plastic clamp was just awful. I will tie it off next time--even if I have to use dental floss.

[sapphire_chan]

If you wait a few hours the sphincter in your baby's belly button should close up and you won't need to clamp or tie.

[kerikadi]

Originally Posted by alegna

Our birth kit came with what was called something like cord tape. It was soft cotton string. I loved that it wasn't a hard plastic piece.

-Angela

Yep, that's what we used too.

[kerikadi]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

If you wait a few hours the sphincter in your baby's belly button should close up and you won't need to clamp or tie.

We didn't tie/cut the cord for a few hours and there was still bleeding if we hadn't tied it off there would have been blood on everything.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by kerikadi

We didn't tie/cut the cord for a few hours and there was still bleeding if we hadn't tied it off there would have been blood on everything.

Yeah, the source I read (http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/cordIssues.html) about not needing to clamp/tie-off said that sometimes there would still be bleeding and then they'd just clamp/tie-off at that point.

"Many here have delayed cutting the cord for two or more hours. If you notice, the cord is still pulsating at the umbilicus for about this length of time, even though there is no pulsation in the middle. So what we do is deliver the placenta into a chux, loosely twist it around the cord and tie it off with a twist tie. We bundle baby and placenta together in a position much like in utero, and wrap both with blankets. When we do cut the cord, there is very little bleeding if any, and more often than not, we use no clamp at all. Obviously, if the cord leaks, we clamp it, as we do if there is a medical emergency necessitating clamping the cord. "

And that's when the spiffy soft tape comes into play. Wasn't posting to say "don't bother having anything ready."

[homebirthing]

I use a metal cord clamp and then when I do the newborn exam, I tie it off with cord tape.

[Kitten]

The birth kit our MW recommends from birthwithlove.com comes with a cord clamp. We decided not to get the kit since we had most things in it already. MW said she'd just bring some sterilized thread. I'm not sure how to sterilize thread, but sounds fine to me. I've heard of people using embroidery floss.

[Bitter Green]

We used ribbon.

[SamGroom]

wow a string would have been much nicer.

[To-Fu]

Our MW also used some kind of string. Seemed so much nicer for baby! (And diaper changes.)

[Peacemamalove]

My midwife used string as well and it seemed to heal much faster than with a big huge cord clamp..