Evensong Approach to Delayed Cord Clamping

Delayed cord clamping.  What is it??  This is a topic that you’ve probably considered and heard about if you are pregnant.  Years ago, when a baby was born, we clamped and cut the cord immediately, sent the baby over to a “warmer”, and assessed and assisted the baby- very assertively.  We’ve learned over the last 20 or so years that babies do best with their natural “warmer”, their mother.  They don’t usually need much of our “assertive assistance” to take their first breaths, and they do much better if we delay the clamping of the cord so that they are getting oxygen-rich blood while they are transitioning to life outside the womb.  If you leave the cord connected to its source until it stops pulsating, you keep mama and baby together for very important physiologic and bonding reasons.  

According to ACOG:

• Delayed umbilical cord clamping increases hemoglobin levels at birth and improves iron stores in the first several months of life, which may have a favorable effect on developmental outcomes.

• There is a small increase in the incidence of jaundice that requires phototherapy in term infants undergoing delayed umbilical cord clamping. Consequently, care providers adopting delayed umbilical cord clamping in term infants should ensure that mechanisms are in place to monitor and treat neonatal jaundice.

• Delayed umbilical cord clamping does not increase the risk of postpartum hemorrhage.

We consider delayed cord clamping our standard of care, and will not separate you from your baby unless there is an emergency situation.  We want you to be with your baby from the start!