Many people believe that a choice has to be made between storing your baby’s cord blood and delayed clamping, but that is not the truth. In fact, of the 200mL of blood contained in the umbilical cord after birth, only 20-40 mL will go into your newborn baby. The benchmark amount of cord blood needed to store your baby’s cord blood is 50mL. There is more than enough cord blood in the umbilical cord after birth to delay cutting the cord and still store this life-saving source of stem cells.
Was your baby’s umbilical cord clamped and cut right after birth? Or did you elect to delay clamping and cutting the umbilical cord? There is growing debate among the medical community surrounding delayed cord clamping and cutting. Childbirth experts in the United Kingdom have gathered together to ask the National Health Service to change its policy on early clamping and cutting.
They believe that it is beneficial to the baby to delay the clamping of the cord to allow more blood to go into the baby’s body. Since about a third of the baby’s blood is still in the cord and placenta at the time of birth, researchers believe that delaying the cutting until the cord stops pulsating naturally can help prevent the baby from developing iron-deficiency anemia.
In the United States, there has not been a clear determination as to whether delaying the clamping and cutting of the cord is beneficial at all to the baby. All parties agree, however, that if there is an emergency during birth, such as the cord wrapped around the baby’s neck or the mother is hemorrhaging, then the cord should be cut right away. One thing is for sure, more research needs to be done in the area of delayed cord clamping to determine the optimal time to clamp the umbilical cord.
Disclaimer: AlphaCord does not endorse or make recommendations with respect to research, medications, or treatment. All information provided is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice.
