Umbilical cord - should it be left or clamped?

[shinyshilling]

Sorry this is the third question in one morning - shouldn't read all those books before bed time!

I'm planning on having a waterbirth at home if everything goes to plan. Is it best to leave the cord to pulsate or to cut it straight away? I was talking to a MW who suggested that leaving it to pulsate was a kinder way to begin breathing in the world and less of a rude awakening - but like everything else are there risks attached to this approach?

I think the only risk is from leaving it on for too long after it's stopped pulsating, but it doesn't take a very aware midwife to realise when it has stopped! I'm definately asking for this at my homebirth

I asked for mine to be left until it had finised pulsating after a waterbirth in hospital. Worked fine for me and everything was ok with dd.

Can't remember why I asked for it this way. I had obviously been reading something before bedtime too!

Some people leave the placenta attached to the baby until the cord withers (called lotus birth, I believe).

Leaving it till it's stopped pulsating is much better for the baby than clamping immediately, assuming the baby is well, I think.

Better to leave the cord to stop pulsating as nature intended. A waterbirth is an intervention free birth where drugs have not been used for the birth. If the cord is clamped and cut whilst still pulsating it is necessary to give a drug to deliver the placenta. Clamping the cord upsets the mechanism of the placenta delivering which is in itself an intervention which is unnecessary.. The pulsating cord provides the baby with oxygen as well as extra blood which boosts iron stores for later.
The midwife should have the drug avaiable however just incase there is excess bleeding which is a reason to intervene. In my unit many women deliver the placenta while still in the pool and then the cord is cut. It is also OK to cut the cord once it stops pulsating which can continue for some time.

With my third I delivered the placenta before the cord was cut. It was fab for me and my two older children to see ds3 sucking from me and still attached to the placenta.

I was going to do the same with number 4 but the placenta took a while to come so the cord was getting in the way.

My mw's always waited at least until it had stopped pulsing. Once I cut it, and once Dh did too. That was quite fun.

All the best by the way.

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Cod, have a vision of lifting the baby up and through to tie the knot - PMSL!

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Coddy, mothers, eh? What do they know?

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Oh, Coddy

It came out wrong, didn't it? Sorry Was saying that mothers (ie including me) know nothing. I'm an arse.

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