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Pregnancy

NHS cutting cord too early?

115 replies

wifflepuss · 27/04/2013 15:15

Just wondering what peoples thoughts were on this.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/25/cutting-cord-babies-risk-nhs

OP posts:

Report

HettySunshine · 27/04/2013 16:10

Having read a bit about the brnefits

HettySunshine · 27/04/2013 16:14

Let's try that again! Having read about about the benefits of late clamping I was already planning on asking that the umbilical cord be left intact until it stopped pulsating. I think that it is becoming more and more common for people to ask for this.

Flisspaps · 27/04/2013 16:15

I'd go for delayed cord clamping unless the baby needed to be resuscitated and this wasn't possible with the cord intact.

I thought it was now considered best practice to leave the cord until it had stopped pulsating?

tinierclanger · 27/04/2013 16:16

Delayed clamping is policy in our trust now. :)

SchroSawMargeryDaw · 27/04/2013 16:20

I'm also asking for delayed clamping.

wonderstuff · 27/04/2013 16:23

I requested delayed clamping, no idea what the policy is, but midwives were happy to do as I asked wrt third stage. Both of mine were jaundice for just over two weeks and I think I remember something about that being linked.

I planned to ebf and that influenced my decision.

Fakebook · 27/04/2013 16:24

My cord was left until it pulsated with both my babies and I didn't even ask for it. My dd was born in 2007 and ds in 2012. Maybe this is something that differs from hospital to hospital?

marthabear · 27/04/2013 16:49

Many of the wiser midwives have known about this for a long time. I think immediate cord clamping became the norm due to the over- medicalisation of childbirth and the the hurried nature of delivery wards. It became unquestioned. However, their are also many midwives who are uncomfortable supporting mothers with a physiological third stage of labour as they are so inexperienced with it...even those with many years in the profession. I really welcome the publicity that this is getting, and hope it will bring about a change in the NICE guidelines as more mothers demand that their newborns are not deprived of their own blood at the time of birth.

marthabear · 27/04/2013 16:59

Their is a trial at our hospital which involves the delayed cord clamping of preterm babies who would need resusitation. A kind of resusitaton station that can be used close to the mother is being used which allows resusitation measures to start while the cord remains intact, pulsing the oxygenated blood to the baby. I have really high hopes for this and actually think it will reduce the suffering of the most vunerable new babies. I just wonder why these trials weren't done years ago. When I was at a Neonatal Life Support Course about 5 years ago, I asked the facilitators ( neonatal consultants) about the possibilty of leaving the cord intact during resusitation so the baby can be receiving oxygen via the cord while it is struggling to breathe for itself. They looked at me like I was from another planet.

marthabear · 27/04/2013 17:01

there*

chattychattyboomba · 27/04/2013 17:18

Never had the option- they didn't even read my birth plan which included delayed clamping and DH to cut the cord. Pretty sure they just chucked it in the bin.

IneedAsockamnesty · 27/04/2013 17:20

I'm pretty sure that all my children ( being born since 1993) have had delayed clamping.

higgle · 27/04/2013 17:58

I asked for delayed clamping and DH to cut cord, plus natural third stage and this was OK in private hospital with DS1 and at home with DS2.

perfectstorm · 27/04/2013 18:16

I was at the Rosie at Addenbrookes, NHS hospital. The midwives were pleased I wanted delayed clamping/natural 3rd stage as they were aware research showed that as possibly a bit better for the baby. This was in 2008. It wasn't any kind of a big deal (and the placenta delivery was painless, too, which may be akin to the difference between induced/accelerated labours and natural? No idea but would make sense).

MaybeAMayBaby · 27/04/2013 18:26

Marthabear, would you mind me asking which hospital?
I delivered a preterm baby (29 weeks) a couple of months ago and the immediate aftermath of the emergency section is still confusing. The cord wasn't clamped. But the neonatologists didn't realise and the baby lost a lot of blood back into the placenta-needed a transfusion. The details are still sketchy but it was implied that the doctor doing the delivery was from a different hospital and was used to different practise!
So, if left too long, does it make sense that the blood flows the opposite way? From baby to placenta? I have a debrief appointment coming up and would love someone who knows more about this to give me some advice.

Longdistance · 27/04/2013 18:41

I wouldn't have had a choice with dd1 as the umbilical cord was only 15cm long, and snapped on delivery.

Dd2's was cut straight away, and she was jaundiced for weeks. Maybe that had something to do with it?

duchesse · 27/04/2013 18:49

It's always made perfect sense as the biological norm to me. Along with the oxygen support until breathing is established, the benefits of blood supply evening out both sides of the navel were pretty compelling to me. Having read up extensively about this before the birth of my 3 oldest, I requested it for their births in 1993, 1995, and 1997.

In the event DS's labour was augmented (which is a contraindication as it can force too much blood into the baby apparently). He was rather badly jaundiced. DDs 1 & 2 were home births with delayed cutting. Absolutely fine. DD3 was born as a crash CS so not sure what happened but she did get slightly jaundiced. I had been on syntocinon and she was pretty ill so fairly unlikely they delayed clamping. I really must get around to going for a debrief some time.

A friend had a hb and delayed cord clamping with an independent very laid-back midwife. Even her midwife was getting pretty worried and getting ready to take my friend to hospital when the placenta hadn't appeared after 7 hours (everything else was fine) and the cord still had a pulse. As my friend stood up to walk to the ambulance, the placenta plopped out.

MissHinky · 27/04/2013 18:51

I'm not sure what is best practice in our health trust but I'm going to ask for delayed cord clamping as well.

Going to check out the situation with my midwife on the next appointment.

duchesse · 27/04/2013 18:52

Longdistance, 15cm?? Was she a CS? Can't imagine she'd have made it out any other way. Was she very calm in utero?

VivaLeBeaver · 27/04/2013 18:53

Its been policy at our hospital for about a year as well.

duchesse · 27/04/2013 18:54

Maybe, did you have ergometrine to expel the placenta? You need an unmanaged third stage for delayed clamping. As far as I remember you're more likely to bleed from the site of the placenta with an early birth as the placenta isn't "ripe" and ready to come away as much.

Littlemissexpecting · 27/04/2013 18:55

Does anyone know if you can have a managed third stage as well as delayed cord clamping?

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Littlemissexpecting · 27/04/2013 18:55

Oops duchesse just answered my question!

5madthings · 27/04/2013 18:56

I asked for delayed clamping with mine and yes there is now a special.resusitation station that can be used to enable babies needing resucitation to leave cord intact.

Littlefish · 27/04/2013 18:58

I had delayed cord clamping with dd, but she was still jaundiced.

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