Umbilical Chords

[Burry]

Do you need to cut and clamp the Umbilical Chord? Or will it fall off naturally, like it does with animals?

[tracymort]

nope and yep! some people do leave it on, they call it a lotus birth http://www.radmid.demon.co.uk/cord.htm i didn't do that myself but i do believe in delayed cord cutting. they do it way too quick imo, when lots of babies blood is still in the placenta! i told the midwife to wait until the cord stopped pulsating before cutting mine. http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/cordNFM.html

[smudge]

Reminds me of when our last Granddaughter was born. The cord was cut & clamped as soon as she was born, but it didn't stop bleeding for days, even after putting bigger clamps on! Does makes you wonder how animals just get on with it!

[smudge]

Is it something I said AB Ed, or have you just got it in for me lately? Please reply & let me know why you keep editing my replies!?

[AB Editor]

Hi Smudge. Just added in the last word that you left out - 'it' ... remember? So we didn't need the extra posting ;-) - AB Ed

[smudge]

Oh okay, I was beginning to wonder whether I wasn't participating correctly! Thanx for that!

[derbyram]

tracyh did the midwife have a heart attack when you asked her not to cut your umbilical cord until it had stopped pulsating?

[tracymort]

Amazingly she was fine! I think it's the consultants that tend to have a problem with the normal course of childbirth. It was in my birth plan and she was fine with my physiological (natural) 3rd stage too. In fact when i suggested it the midwife agreed with my choice, they just don't seem to volunteer these ideas though.