Delaying Cord Clamping & NICU

Delaying cord clamping could save your baby from an unnecessary stay in the NICU

There are many birth practices which perpetuate an enculturation of fear & dependence on “emergency medicine”. We have adopted and sustained so many backwards & outdated procedures in the birth space, that the negative results gleaned from those practices now appear to be normal, and expected.  We started clamping umbilical cords immediately to jump start a baby’s breathing via the lungs. During the ‘knock ‘em out, drag ‘em out era of birth (knock the mother out, drag the baby out), babies reflexes were so depressed from drugs doctors had to force them to breath by cutting off their oxygen supply via clamping of the umbilical cord, as well as hanging them upside down, sometimes spanking them  (I teach a class on this ;) link in bio) 

We started seeing more babies “in trouble” after this “immediate clamping” phenomenon began. This is when we start to see that parents often cause their own emergencies in birth. 

3 main issues that arise from premature cord clamping: 

Low iron 

Low Glucose (Blood Sugar)/Hypoglycemia 

Jaundice 

(Amongst others)

What are the most common reasons newborns go to NICU besides premature birth? Those reasons listed above 👆

Low Glucose

One of your baby’s most important sources of energy is sugar, in particular, a type of sugar called ‘glucose’.

Glucose is carried to every cell in the body by the circulation of blood. Healthy babies keep themselves well supplied with energy by keeping their blood glucose levels within a normal range.

In the uterus (womb), babies get glucose from their mother through the placenta & umbilical cord. Some glucose is used immediately as energy and some is stored in preparation for birth. Newborn babies are able to make glucose from these stores. In this way, healthy, well-grown babies keep their blood glucose levels normal for the first few days of life and until they are established with breastfeeding. 

Breastmilk becomes the main source of sugar for the baby. The lactose sugar in milk is converted to glucose in the body. In addition to using sugar from milk for activity and growth, your baby will again store sugar to avoid low blood glucose between feeds.

Another name for low blood glucose is ‘hypoglycemia’. In healthy babies, blood glucose levels are lowest at 1 hour to 2 hours of age, while the baby gets used to being outside the womb; in most cases, blood glucose levels will rise after this, using healthy sugar and fat stores. However, we see many babies with low glucose levels, “low blood sugar” for a few reasons: 

Their umbilical cord was clamped and cut immediately or within the first hour after birth

The nurses are drawing blood from the baby every few hours for “tests”

The baby’s heel is pricked for the “PKU test”

The baby is separated from the mother within the first house for “routine exams” and “testing”. 

Prevent it 

The most natural and important way to feed your baby and maintain a normal blood glucose level is early and regular breastfeeding, no separation from mother and delayed cord clamping. 

Blood Volume:

During the end of pregnancy and right at birth the amount of blood going from the mother/placenta to the newborn through the umbilical cord is 92 ml/minute (3.1 ounces)

A baby is born with about 70 ml (2.4 ounces) of blood per kg of body weight. So if at birth baby weighs 8 lbs (3.6 kilos), the baby is born with roughly 210ml of blood in its body.  If an umbilical cord is pumping blood to the baby and could do so for about 5-10 min after the birth that means if we cut the cord prematurely the baby stands to miss out on receiving 30 ounces of fresh cord blood carrying stem cells, iron and glucose. 

Low Iron:

At birth most full-term infants have high to normal hemoglobin concentrations (15-17 g/dL)

Iron deficiency and overload have been implicated in neuro-developmental impairments. 

Iron deficiency during the fetal or postnatal periods can alter brain structure, neurochemistry and cognitive functioning, and lead to long-term cognitive and motor impairment that cannot be corrected by iron supplementation 

Jaundice:

Infant jaundice is yellow discoloration of a newborn baby's skin and eyes. Infant jaundice occurs because the baby's blood contains an excess of bilirubin (bil-ih-ROO-bin). A few things can cause an excess amount of bilirubin, one is that a baby's liver isn't mature enough to get rid of bilirubin in the bloodstream.

Another is because a mother takes drugs during her labor, fentanyl in the epidural, Pitocin, etc. and the baby’s liver becomes overburdened. Another cause is anemia commonly caused cutting the umbilical cord within an hour after birth. 

Bilirubin is generated from the sequential catalytic degradation of the heme in hemoglobin by heme oxygenase and biliverdin reductase. Thus, a reduction in hemoglobin levels is implicated in a change in physiological serum bilirubin levels.

When a newborn has low glucose, low iron, or jaundice they will often be put under observation. That separation from the mother further compounds the issues at hand by creating a deep disruption of the newborns nervous system and adrenal functions. Women and babies miss out on key biological opportunities that are only available when she remains unseparated from her child. 

It’s time to re-imagine how we have the power to prevent our babies from going into unnecessary emergency care. There are many ways to sever the cord. You can use the flame of a candle (most safe/sanitary), an EZ clamp, or "lotus birth" where the cord dries out naturally over a few days an separates on it's own (this requires daily care over

the placenta)

Resources:

https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookId=2129&sectionId=192017550

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Anemia-in-Newborns.aspx

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3644740/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6824731/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2863301/

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/low-iron-saturation#measuring-low-iron-saturation

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53254/#s2.2