Ah, say you're having a lotus birth and cut the cord yourself the next day! That way you won't have to worry about interfering busybodies coming near your child's cord with clamps and scissors too soon! The cord can pulse at the umbilicus for minutes/hours afterwards so if you decide to cut after the cord stops pulsing, make sure you check the cord yourself near the umbilicus!
Here are some interesting tidbits i've found:
"Some studies have shown an increased risk of polycythemia (more red blood cells in the blood) and jaundice when the cord is clamped later. Polycythemia may be beneficial, in that more red cells means more oxygen being delivered to the tissues. The risk that polycythemia will cause the blood to become too thick (hyperviscosity syndrome), which is often used as an argument against delayed cord clamping, seems to be negligible in healthy babies."
(Morley G. Cord closure: can hasty clamping injure the newborn. OBG Management 1998;July:29-36)
"Jaundice is almost certain when a baby gets his or her full quota of blood, and is caused by the breakdown of the normal excess of blood to produce bilirubin, the pigment that causes the yellow appearance of a jaundiced baby. There is, however, no evidence of adverse effects from this."
(Morley G. Cord closure: can hasty clamping injure the newborn. OBG Management 1998;July:29-36)
"One author has proposed that jaundice, which is present in almost all human infants to some extent, and which is often prolonged by breastfeeding, may actually be beneficial because of the anti-oxidant properties of bilirubin." (Gartner L. Breastfeeding, breastmilk and the jaundiced baby. Paper presented at The Passage to Motherhood Conference CAPERS 1998, Brisbane.)
Botha attended over 26 000 Bantu women over 10 years, and reports that "a retained placenta was seldom seen…blood transfusion for postpartum haemorrhage was never necessary." Bantu women deliver both baby and placenta while squatting, and the cord is not attended to until the placenta delivers itself by gravity.
(Botha M. Management of the umbilical cord during labour. S.A. J Obstet Gynecol 1968;August:30-33)
There is some evidence that the practice of clamping the cord, which is not practiced by indigenous cultures, contributes to both PPH and retained placenta by trapping extra blood (around 100ml, as described above) within the placenta. This increases placental bulk, which the uterus cannot contract efficiently against, and which is more difficult to expel.
(Walsh S. Maternal effects of early and late clamping of the umbilical cord. Lancet 1968, 11 May:997)
Clamping the cord, especially at an early stage, may also cause the extra blood trapped within the placenta to be forced back through the placenta into the mothers blood supply with the third stage contractions.
(DoolittleJ, Moritz C. Obstet Gynecol 1966; 27:529)
"Lotus Birth" by Shivam Rachana, International College of Spiritual Midwifery, Melbourne, Australia. There is a website with photos of lotus birth maintained by Shivam Rachana and partial chapters from her book.
http://www.womenofspirit.asn.au/lotus_web/lotus.htm
Also, something to think about… mammals don't sever the cord until after the placenta has been birthed and has stopped pulsing - then they bite through the cord (note, no tying or clamping it) and some proceed to eat the placenta and cord.
Normal psychological third stage consists of the cord being left alone until both baby and placenta have been birthed, and waiting for the vessels in the cord to completely close off before severing the cord.
This is a lot different from active management of the third stage that seems to be the norm now in hospitals and midwife-assisted homebirths. There is no need for clamping or tying off of the cord before cutting - and if there is a need, then obviously it is too soon to cut the umbilical cord.
Also, a cut cord is a wound. An uncut cord with placenta and baby attached is a closed system and once the need (physical or emotional) for the placenta is gone, the cord comes away. Wounds take longer to heal - the cut cord stub seems to take longer to fall off.
