Dec 30

Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.

“…The Baby Could Get Too Much Blood!”

“No, the baby could get too much blood.” -OB to mother when asked if he could delay clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord.

67 people dislike these words.

There are 16 comments to this post.

Molly had this to say, Dec 30, 2009 @ 5:50 am (Quote)

That blood belongs to the baby in the first place. Babies whose cords are cut too early are 3 times as likely to be anemic at 3 months old.
Seriously, where are these OBs getting their information? Did they get their degree out of a Cracker Jack box?

Christi had this to say, Dec 30, 2009 @ 5:53 am (Quote)

You say that like it’s a bad thing!

Jane had this to say, Dec 30, 2009 @ 8:11 am (Quote)

Let’s hear it for evidence-based medicine. :-b

No, I’m still not hearing it.

Guggie Daly had this to say, Dec 30, 2009 @ 8:36 am (Quote)

With the new studies coming out implicating premature cord cutting in Autism and other ASD issues, along with oxygen deprivation of the brain…it’s sad to think the ignorance of these doctors is directly and permanently harming children.

Nicholas Fogelson Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 6:03 pm Nicholas Fogelson(Quote)

There is no reputable data implicating premature cord cutting and Autism. There is no database that would allow such a comparison at this time. Though cord clamping early in premature neonates does seem to have a harmful effect (slight), there is no data that supports long term improved outcomes with immediate cord clamping at term. Babies born to iron deficient mothers will have less anemia if cord clamping is delayed 30-60 minutes, but this benefit cannot be generalized to the entire population. Delayed clamping in the general term population does increase the rate of neonatal jaundice, and subsequent treatment for that, though it is possible that that diagnosis is based on incorrect norms built from immediate clamped baby populations.

We aren’t as dumb as you think, and its not as simple as you think either.

Nicholas Fogelson MD

Lauren had this to say, Dec 30, 2009 @ 11:13 am (Quote)

Doctors who say stuff like this clearly do not understand physiology. The process of birth is not a new concept and the body does what it does for a reason!! This is natural!

Jennifer B. had this to say, Dec 30, 2009 @ 1:23 pm (Quote)

My doc said that if we delay cord cutting that the baby could bleed to death because the baby’s blood would come back through the cord and out the placenta, draining the baby… yeah…

Kat Reply:
December 30th, 2009 at 1:45 pm Kat(Quote)

They come up with opposite (but equally ridiculous) reasons NOT to follow evidence-based care, but WE are the stupid ones for questioning. Yeah, right.

Jane Reply:
December 30th, 2009 at 4:16 pm Jane(Quote)

Of course. And if a newborn male is circumcised, all the baby’s blood will pour out of the incision spot, draining the baby.

Didn’t any of these doctors learn anything after their great-grandma finished telling them birth lore at the age of three?

Michelle Potter Reply:
December 30th, 2009 at 4:22 pm Michelle Potter(Quote)

Right, OF COURSE! It makes absolutely perfect sense that an organ that has been providing the baby with oxygen and food for nine months is going to suddenly start draining the baby of blood after birth. Obviously.

Jane Reply:
December 30th, 2009 at 4:55 pm Jane(Quote)

It’s like one of those pumps you use to inflate an air mattress. It inflates the baby before birth, and the process of birth flips the switch to the opposite direction and it begins deflating the baby. That’s why most babies lose some weight after birth.

Or, it’s all horsepuckey.

Jennifer B. Reply:
December 30th, 2009 at 5:13 pm Jennifer B.(Quote)

I vote horsepucky

Heather P had this to say, Dec 30, 2009 @ 4:22 pm (Quote)

I’ve heard this one many times. It doesn’t make it any less rediculous no matter how many times I hear it.

We didn’t cut the cord for my second child until the placenta was born. (Oh, the horror) Surprise! She didn’t bleed to death.

Kathy had this to say, Dec 30, 2009 @ 6:45 pm (Quote)

This is actually technically possible… but only if you hold the placenta up like an IV, forcing the blood to drain into the baby. If the baby is in the mom’s arms, and the placenta is still inside the uterus (which is where it usually stays for several minutes after the birth, unless that process is interfered with), then the baby and placenta are about level, and there should be little or no draining of blood into either baby or placenta, but whatever is normal.

Lisa had this to say, Jun 1, 2010 @ 6:47 pm (Quote)

I am starting to think they make up their reasons. Wasn’t there another OB who said all the good blood would get pumped back into the placenta if they didn’t clamp? Good grief!

Wren's Mama had this to say, Jul 13, 2010 @ 8:51 pm (Quote)

Could clamping the cord early also have anything to do with why babies need Vitamin K shots to help with clotting issues? Hum…not recieving that extra blood…clotting issues?

Leave birth alone. If it were REALLY THAT DANGEROUS, the human species would have died out a LONG time ago. You think Eve had epidurals, early-cord cutting, C/S, doppler monitors, BP cuffs, etc?

I think we need to ‘Eve’n out undisturbed births vs. interventioned births.

P.S. – Yes, for some women, birth can be a dangerous situation, and yes, SOMETIMES intervention is neccessary. But not to the degree it is pushed.

P.S.S. – I gave birth to my daughter (first and only) in my kitchen. With a wonderful midwife…three of them actually. Repeat. First baby, 7 hour and 2 minute labor.

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