Cord Cutting...

[Dragonfly Fi]

Hello Third Tri ladies

We have just been sat talking about the birth plan and the different case senarios - we are intending to stay at home but obviously MIGHT get transferred to hospital if things go pear shaped...

Now the MOST important thing to me about the birth that in ALL CASES MUST remain - is that the cord should not be cut before it has stopped pulsing

This is because when the placenta is inside of the womb, feeding the child, it takes blood from the child, oxygenates it, fortifies it and sends it back via the cord into the child

When the child is being born, that relationship is vital, the childs blood is being pumped into the placenta, where your breathing and vital functions will oxygenate the blood so the child has oxygen (and therefore life) during the time it travels through the birth canal.

When the baby is born, up to 15% of its good, oxygenated blood is still inside the placenta

to clamp and cut the cord instantly, before that blood has had the chance to return to the child, is a massive shock to the child and its system, many people believe it can cause some brain damage and certainly doesnt help if little one is taking a minute or two to start breathing

If you watch birthing videos, many babies dont cry until the cord has been prematurely clamped and cut, at this point they release a strangled cry as their little bodies fight to take that first breath and fill their bodies with oxygen

Now some people will just 'trust the professionals' of course, but i think its worthwhile us ALL looking into this and making a judgement based upon fact rather than a medical system that simply hasnt been addressed in so many years, it is fighting against medical research instead of with it

Sorry to throw all this at you guys, i just hope us girlies in the third tri will take it on board and try and make a decision for ourselves xx

 

[Rosie's Mummy]

Yep I have made the decision already to let the cord stop pulsating before it is cut. I would consider it an assault if they didnt rexpect my wishes

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

yeah i consider it an assault too, an assault on a tiny baby at that - i found of that whole One Born Every Minute series, the hardest thing to watch was them cutting the cords so quickly, the strangled cries of the babies and that oxygen rich blood spilling onto the bedsheet - made me cringe every time

 

[jellybean]

I am in total agreement with you on this too, I had the cord stop pulsating before it was cut with my first child and I had a perfect labour. I am also wanting the same this time around, but am unsure as to how they do things here so need to do abit more research to put my point across! Great thread btw and has reasurred me.x

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

i would make sure how important it is to you JellyBean, to your birthing partner too because they are very eager to snip quick in the medical profession in this country (though i have NO idea why!) and you will probably find that your birthing partner has to re-inform them of your wishes rather quickly after baby has been born x

 

[Minchin]

I had read this before someone on here and was trying to explain to OH why it was important (but didn't really know the facts)..thanks, as now I do.

So does all the blood go from the cord into baby while it is still pulsating (sorry to sound thick!)...babies blood doesn't flow back into the placenta? Is it one way flow? And also, does baby take first breaths when still attached via the cord? It seems such an important thing but something I wouldn;t have a clue about if it wasn't for this forum. Thanks x

 

[Lovisa]

Thanks for the info hun I am glad you have made me aware of this and hopefully they listen to me on the day

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

Minchin -

the placenta acts as a vital organ whilst in the womb

so the blood from the baby (all the time s/he is in the womb is working as a bodily organ to take blood from the baby, fill it with good stuff and return it to the baby via the cord

So... think of it this way, in your body right now, you eat food but that food doesnt travel to all the different parts of your body, it is changed into nutrients which fill your blood

In the baby, we the mother eat the food/breath the air and the placenta takes the babies blood and fills it with oxygen and nutrients before returning it to the baby (because, obviously there isnt much of a air supply/canteen within a womb) we the mother have to get all that outside stuff and the baby just gets the good bits

Now if you imagine your heart, your heart takes in blood, oxygenates it and then pumps it back into the body - so there always has to be a certain amount of blood in the heart (because its a cycle)

In the placenta, there will be an amount of babies blood that has been oxygenated, waiting to be pumped back into the baby

If the cord is pulsing, it is because (like a heart) that placenta is pumping oxygen rich and nutrient rich blood back into the baby

If you cut it, the baby has less oxygenated blood (the amount depends on how lucky they are) and its like someone has clamped a hand over its air supply so the babies body has to go 'OH NO, our air supply has gone, quick! quick breath and get some oxygen'

when actually it doesnt need to be nearly that tramatic for the baby, either emotionally or physically

If the placenta is giving the baby oxygenated and nutrient rich blood, the baby can begin breathing for itself without the big tramatic rush

its also bad for the third stage (where the placenta comes out) if the cord is cut after it has finished pulsing, the third stage is much easier for the mother and there has been recorded an awful lot less bloodloss.

Its beneficial in every way to simply wait, allow the cord to stop pulsing (and use the time to bond with your baby whilst s/he is still attached to you) before allowing medical intervention to severe that tie between you

remember that baby has been in your womb, attached to the cord for 9 months, it is your life-line between each other and it is a vital part of your bonding

I just wish hospitals were less eager to cut the cord asap and instead look at the benefits to leaving it connected just for a little while

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

Thanks for the info hun I am glad you have made me aware of this and hopefully they listen to me on the day

I hope so too babes it would be terrible if they didnt! just inform the midwives and your birthing partner and write it in the birth plan and hopefully all will be good

its important our birth partners know because we are a bit preoccupied as soon as our little ones are born!

 

[Minchin]

Thanks BigBump, Makes so much sense to wait then? You wouldn't think I did Human Biologyy A level!! I am def going to put this on my birth plan but OH may also have to do some reminding...

Just to clarify one bit then, after baby is born they get the extar oxygenated blood which is still pumping from placenta, BUT can also start breathing in their own time? rather than being shocked into breathing by the cut of the cord andsudden stop of any oxygenated blood?

Thanks so much!

 

[bobkat]

Great thread, we are definitely going to be putting this on our birth plan. Watched a programme on a home birth a couple of months ago when they did this, I had no idea beforehand just accepted that what the hospitals did by clamping quickly was right. It just looked so much more peaceful, calm and well... natural by leaving it until it was no longer needed to transfer blood across.

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

Oh yeah of course, thats the point, they will start breathing just as quickly if the cord is still attached but they are starting on the up if you see what i mean

So, when we breath - we dont wait until all our blood is de-oxygenated in order to take another breath, we have a cycle, its like if you breathed all the air out of your lungs now and waited 2 mins before taking a breath, you would pant wouldnt you - to get the air back into your body so that it could oxygenate your blood and keep you alive

its the difference between a natural

'aaaaand Breath'

and

'OMG IF I DONT BREATH I WILL DIE' pant pant pant

and i know (personally) i would prefer the former for my babies start to the world...

 

[jellybean]

Bigbump, this is great as my husband and I were talking about this a while ago and he was saying that it was my choice and that he would back me up, but he didnt fully undersatnd why i had been firm on this and I certainly didnt explain it as good as you have!! I am now confident that he will reiterate what I want now knowing why!

 

[megsmeadow]

At my antenatal class the MW was saying that if you opt for a physiological third stage of labour over a managed one then they automatically leave the cord to stop pulsing so I've got that in my birth plan, unless of course there is some life threatening emergency and it has to be done. Totally agree on letting nature work is wonders, what on earth did women do before midwifes and doctors eh!!!

 

[evajo]

I never realised this with the first three - but have already made the descion to let it stop pulsing before they cut it this time x

 

[titch]

thanks for this. I'll mention it to the midwife tomorrow. Do they give any kind of logical reason for the quick clamping and cutting at all? Just wondering if they will try to object so I can be prepared!!

 

[Dragonfly Fi]

There is no logical reason for it tiny Just the usual hospital way of getting everything 'over and done with as quick as possible' i suppose they might say its so they can take the baby and examine it as soon as possible but really if the baby is struggling to breath, the cord being cut is the last thing it needs!

same reason they offer hormones if your not 'progressing' enough etc

I hate the idea of having an injection to 'expell' the placenta, when leaving the cord on and getting the child on the breast quickly are two great ways to naturally birth the placenta
the amount of blood loss from the mother reduces greatly if the placenta detatches naturally as well x

 

[titch]

thank you! thought so. A lot of the interventions seems to be for 2 reasons; 1) for monitoring and assessment and 2) incase of a worst case scenario, which is highly unlikely, but for some reason everyone has to be prepared for!

Im thoroughly intending on being a demanding woman when I have my baby!