Delayed cord clamping is, simply, not cutting the umbilical cord after birth till it has done its job.
Your placenta and baby are one functioning unit; the placenta acts in a similar way to a kidney dialysis machine by filtering the baby’s blood and returning it to the baby’s body. At birth, the placenta is still full of your baby’s blood.
Cutting the cord early means your baby may lose up to a third of its own blood supply which is still in the placenta. Cutting the cord immediately means baby’s body is immediately at a disadvantage, fighting to do all the things it needs to do after birth without full blood supply.
A person on a kidney dialysis machine would not be disconnected from the machine till all their blood was returned to their body; why disconnect a baby early?
How Is Delayed Cord Clamping Beneficial To Your Baby?
Delaying cord clamping increases your baby’s iron stores, lowers the risk of anaemia and asthma and decreases complications following birth.
Some sources also say it also lowers the risk of autism, cerebral palsy, hypovolemia, hypotension, ischemia, shock, shock lung, respiratory distress, oliguria, hypoglycemia, ischemic encephalopathy, mental retardation; neural, behavioral and developmental disorders.
What If My Doctor Won’t Do Delayed Cord Clamping?
In most countries, a woman legally cannot have a medical procedure performed without her permission. Even in medical emergencies, if the woman refuses treatment or a procedure, the doctor cannot perform it unless he wants to risk legal action.
Talk to your doctor and let him know what you want to do. If you’re not sure who’ll be delivering your baby, make sure you have an informed support person or doula available to make your wishes known.
How Is Delayed Cord Clamping Performed?
Once the baby is born, they remain attached to the cord. The cord is not clamped or cut – it is simply left to transfer the remainder of the baby’s blood from the placenta through to the baby’s body. The majority of the blood is transferred in the first 5-15 minutes after birth, although there are different variables (location of placenta, type of birth, temperature) which can cause the blood to transfer in different time frames. The pulsations in the umbilical cord are caused by the baby’s heartbeat, and once these have ceased, it means the placental circulation has ceased and the cord can be clamped and cut.
During this time the mother can hold the baby and bond and rest after the birth. If the delivery was natural, the cord clamping can be delayed till the placenta is delivered if the birth attendant is happy to do so.
The umbilical cord is made of a substance called Wharton’s Jelly. This amazing jelly, when exposed to the changes in temperature outside the womb, is designed to clamp the cord naturally once all the blood has been transferred to the infant. As shown in the images below, the cord naturally goes limp and white after the blood transfer is complete.
In What Situation Can Delayed Cord Clamping Not Be Performed?
There is rarely a situation in which delayed cord clamping is not beneficial; in fact if a baby is born with a nuchal cord (cord around the neck), prematurely or with breathing difficulties, delayed cord clamping is even more beneficial in helping them have the healthiest start to life.
If the baby is not breathing when they’re born, allowing the cord to continue pulsing means that they’re still receiving oxygen through the cord, lowering the risk of problems related to lack of oxygen.
However in some emergency situations, medical personnel may not be trained or have equipment available to allow the baby to remain attached to the cord while still receiving emergency care.
Can Delayed Cord Clamping Be Done For A Caesarean?
Having a caesarean birth does not mean delayed cord clamping cannot take place. There are many ways to allow blood transfer from the placenta in these cases, including:
- Removing the placenta along with the baby, so the two can remain attached for as long as needed (also the method used in a lotus birth.)
- “Milking” the placental blood towards the baby.
- Holding the baby below the level of the placenta for 30-60 seconds to speed transfer.
- Keeping the cord warm (via a towel) to allow it to fully dilate and transfer blood.
- Once the baby’s head is delivered, the baby can be left partially in the uterus as they are given any required resuscitation and allow the cord blood to transfer.
The Pitocin (Syntocinon ) Placental Delivery Needle & Delayed Cord Clamping
If you’re planning to have the pitocin (also known as syntocinon ) needle to help in delivery of the placenta (instead of a psychological third stage, where no needle is given), you’ll need to wait till the baby has had the cord clamped and cut. This is because the needle aids the uterus in contracting, pushing out the blood at a faster rate, which can cause issues with blood transfer to the baby.
Can I Do Cord Blood Storage & Delayed Cord Clamping?
The two are, for the most part, mutually exclusive. Either the baby gets all the blood from the placenta, or it all goes into a bag for storage against future health problems. Although there are cord blood storage companies that claim both can be done, often this means that baby doesn’t receive as much blood as they would through normal delayed cord clamping.
Cord blood storage is expensive (ranging into the thousands) and less than 1% of the stored blood is ever used. Why not give your baby this very important blood instead?
Other Delayed Cord Clamping Resources
- Cord Blood Storage & Use
Why spending thousands of dollars on cord blood storage is a waste of money when many issues could have been avoided at birth. - Delayed Cord Clamping
Cord clamping information & research (by Kate Emerson) - Leaving A Baby’s Umbilical Cord To Stop Pulsating (Delayed Cord Clamping)
A Facebook page dedicated to promoting delayed cord clamping, as well as giving links and information from doctors and medical studies. - Cord Blood Collection: confessions of a vampire-midwife | Midwife Thinking
When I was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed student midwife I was awarded with a certificate and a box of chocolates. My achievement was collecting the most cord blood in the hospital. At that time the Local Health District …
Susannah is a certified Birth Doula through Childbirth International and the founder of Trimester Talk. With a background in journalism and digital strategy, she combines evidence-based research with real-world knowledge to create accessible content about pregnancy and parenting. She’s a mother of two and stepmother of two more, all of them now teenagers.
Cord blood banks do not steal the blood of newborns. It is used for research and life saving medical procedures. Similar to organ donation, this practice can save lives without harming baby at all. I am interested to read the studies that show how DCC can lower the risk of asthma. This is both interesting and new to me. Will check it out for sure.
For the most part, I think the private cord blood banks are plnilug on the heart strings of parents. I have had a bone marrow transplant that used cord blood, so I know a little about the process. I know that it is incredibly unlikely that a child will use their own cord blood.I support donation to the public cord blood banks rather than private banking. With donation, parents arent spending money that 9 times out of 10 increases the *appearance* of safety only, and the cord blood is going to a place where it can actually help more people.