Cord Around the Baby's Neck

Ask the Experts

Sarah Buckley

My daughter is about 19 weeks along and called me in tears the other day. She had done an ultra-sound to find out the baby's gender. A few days later she called her doctor called to schedule another one and told her she thought the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. I told her not to worry, and that I'd pray for her. I also looked up online and found some statistics that said about 25% of baby's are born w/the cord around the neck and as long as it's loose, they're shouldn't be a problem. So was wondering if you can confirm or give me more info on this. Thanks, Traci (Concerned but believing God will take care of our bundle of joy and she is just fine) :)

Your research is correct. One in four to one in five babies are born with the cord around their neck and it is almost always loose enough to loosen and slip the baby through. It may be worth discussing this with your daughter's doctor to ensure that he/she will take care to not cut the cord, as this can stop the baby recieving the extra 100ml of blood (called the placental transfusion) that all babies need for the safest transition to life outside the womb, and that will prevent anemia for the first six months. The chapter Leaving Well Enough Alone in my book below has all the information about this, and you can refer your doctor to the second article, published in a major medical journal.

Best wishes to your daughter for a wonderful birth,

Sarah

Buckley, S. J. (2009). Leaving Well Enough Alone: Natural Perspectives on the Third Stage of Labor. Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctors Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices. Berkeley, CA, Celestial Arts.

Hutton, E. K. and E. S. Hassan (2007). "Late vs early clamping of the umbilical cord in full-term neonates: systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials." JAMA 297(11): 1241-52.

Website resources

www.cordclamp.com

http://www.sarahjbuckley.com/articles/leaving-well-alone.htm