Did you choose Delayed Cord Clamping?
After doing my research the first time around, I knew it was something I needed on my birth plan.
🤔So what is delayed cord clamping anyways?
Delayed cord clamping is when the umbilical cord is not cut immediately but instead is given time to pulsate and transfer blood to the baby.
That means billions of red blood cells, stem cells, white blood cells and other necessary substances from the cord are allowed to pass to the newborn.
*Stem cells alone are essential to the development of the immune, respiratory, cardiovascular, central nervous systems, to name a few. Stem cells can also help repair damage caused by a traumatic birth.
❓How long you should you wait?
It’s best to wait until the umbilical cord is completely drained, limp and white in color.
⏲In 1 minute baby will receive 50% of the cord blood
⏲In 3 minutes baby will receive 90% of the cord blood
⏲Around 5 minutes baby will get all the cord fluids.
I had 5 minutes on my birth plan but if I remember correctly it didn’t take quite that long for all the goodness to pass through!
Now let’s take a look at some benefits!👇
❤ Lower anemia rates
Iron! Did you know iron is super important for brain development, especially for those precious new babies?
We can’t rely on breastmilk alone because while it has some iron in it it is a low amount after birth because mom needs time to rebuild her supply.
🌳More Oxygen for Baby
Those amazing red blood cells carry oxygen to the organs. So a decrease in red blood cells also means a decrease in oxygen.
*Baby is learning to breathe on his own for the first time outside of the womb and the extra oxygen provided from the umbilical cord blood is important.
👶Lifesaving for Preemies!
When a baby is born premature they’re often taken away to a separate area and given immediate medical attention but when cord cutting is delayed they tend to do so much better. Infact Pre-term babies who had delayed cord cutting had:
• Fewer heart problems
• Better blood pressure
• Fewer days of oxygen and ventilation
• Fewer blood transfusions
• Less anemia
And more..
Research has shown benefits for the following as well!👇
🤱It increases the duration of early breastfeeding.
💚Improves Fine Motor and Social Skills
One study found that children who had dcc had better fine motor and social skills than their early clamped peers 4 years after birth.
👶👶❤❤👶👶
So, in full delayed cord clamping has many amazing benefits and is natural, evidence based, and even recommended by many health organizations like WHO and ACOG.
❗One of the biggest objections to dcc your doctor might bring up is due to the risk of jaundice due to high levels of bilirubin in the blood; however, according to researchers there is no increase in harmful levels of bilirubin. Increased jaundice was not statistically significant and even if there was, the increased blood flow from dcc to the baby’s liver allow them to better process bilirubin.
💁♀️To me the benefits of delayed cord clamping outweigh the slightly elevated risk of jaundice.
As always, dig deeper and do your research! Check out Mama Natural for more great info.
🌻Journey on,
