Delayed cord clamping

Hi ladies,

I've been reading about delayed cord clamping recently (waiting 1-2 minutes instead of 15 seconds after birth to clamp). I plan to bring this up to my doctor at my next visit, but I was curious if anyone had thought about this, read about this, or done this. Seems the benefits are biggest for preemies (which I am very likely to have at this point). There are mixed opinions on whether delayed cord clamping increases the risk for jaundice, but the benefits seem pretty strong.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/117/4/1434

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070816193328.htm

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/cfta-hrb041508.php

http://midwifeinfo.com/articles/cord-clamping--please-wait

 

delayed cord clamping is a great option - some people even prefer to wait until the cord stops pulsing completely before clamping & cutting. i agree that the risk of jaundice is minimal, especially considering the benefits.

unfortunately, it wasn't an option for me as my girls shared a placenta & baby a's cord needed to be cut as soon as she was born to facilitate baby b's birth.

GL with your decision.

 

Thanks Miss Bossy, I'm glad to hear it's something that others have considered. My twins are fraternal, so it shouldn't be an issue... BUT I am going to have a repeat C-section so I know the doc will be busy... is it the doc that usually clamps the cord? I assume since we are having twins they would have enough support staff on hand that could help facilitate my request... My other concern is that whoever does it needs to know the right technique. I've read you have to make sure the baby is held above the placenta until the cord is clamped.

 

I'm curious about this with a c/s too. Obviously it's not a problem with a vaginal birth for singletons (and I would think wouldn't be an issue for twin vaginal birth either since there's usually more time between babies with that birth). But right now Baby B is heads up so we'd be looking at a c/s if he doesn't flip by then. I know with our girls they were born early and the c/s room was SO crazy and everything went so fast that they wanted the babies out and over with the neonatologists ASAP. There wouldn't have been time for delaying anything. But that was also an emergency c/s and not scheduled, which I'm sure would make a difference too. I'll be very interested to hear what your Dr has to say about it.

 

I'm pretty sure they delayed this for my latest ds. I had a midwife this time around though. A doctor probably wouldn't be horribly opposed to it, but I think you should be aware that unless you tell the nurses and the doctor right there at delivery it will probably be forgotten. A lot of that stuff is sort of initiated by the delivery room nurses who hand the doctor supplies and keep things moving. I didn't notice any difference in my ds. And none of my kids have had jaundice issues one way or another... I doubt that a doctor would do this during a c/s though. They are normally focused on getting the baby out and getting surgery finished ASAP. And plus during a c/s the baby is not placed on the mother's chest, so who would hold him/her while they are waiting to clamp the cord?

 

No time to read your links, but here's a great one, written by an OB. It pretty much summarizes my thoughts on the subject:

http://academicobgyn.com/2009/12/03/delayed-cord-clamping-should-be-standard-practice-in-obstetrics/

The title kinda says it all.

Good luck!