You may have heard other women talk about wanting to “delay cord clamping”, or maybe you have read something about it.
When an infant is stable, and not in need of resuscitation, delaying the clamping of the umbilical cord for anywhere from 30 seconds to three minutes or when the cord stops pulsating may have significant benefits to the newborn.
The first 1-3 minutes of life are a time of tremendous transition for the baby’s respiratory (breathing) and cardiac (blood flow through the heart) systems. The infant is taking his or her first breaths, the newborn temperature is stabilizing, and the way in which blood flows through your baby is adapting to life outside the womb.
If it is otherwise safe to place an infant on the mother’s abdomen without cutting the cord immediately after birth, several wonderful things can happen.
- A continuous amount of mother’s blood that is rich in oxygen is transferred to the baby
- This transfer of well oxygenated blood can actually increase the total amount of blood your baby has for the first few months of life
- Blood that is rich in oxygen, transferred during the initial moments after birth, can provide increased oxygen during those first few breaths that your baby takes
If your baby is doing well at the time of a cesarean birth it may still be possible to delay cord clamping for a brief period of 30 seconds. If this practice is something that you are interested in doing, you should discuss it with your provider during the final weeks of your pregnancy.