Aug 20

“We Never Do Delayed Clamping Past 40 Weeks…”

“We never do delayed clamping past 40 weeks. If your baby is past 40 weeks, he could die from delayed clamping because he’ll get too much blood.” – OB

95 people dislike these words.

There are 37 comments to this post.

Abby had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 10:51 am (Quote)

I think I just lost brain cells reading that.

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Jane had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 10:51 am (Quote)

“Oh, good, then you do delayed clamping BEFORE 40 weeks…?”

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Alison had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 10:52 am (Quote)

…….
oh…my…god

do these OBs actually think they can just say whatever they want and be believed???
…oh myyy

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Jessica had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 10:54 am (Quote)

I don’t recall my 40w 3d baby exploding from too much blood when we delayed clamping the cord. In fact, the placenta was expelled before we clamped and cut it. Babies don’t fill up like balloons; their bodies know when to say when.

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NewMommy had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 11:02 am (Quote)

This is so stupid, it’s humourous.

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Dy-Anne had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 11:10 am (Quote)

I have yet to hear of someone die of too much blood.

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Les had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 11:12 am (Quote)

So by this logic, my 42+1 homebirth baby who snuggled with me in the pool without any disturbance for a good ten minutes as she pinked up is the Zombie Leader!!

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Jena Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 11:51 am Jena(Quote)

Hahaha, I love that image. Well, both images, but I’m amused by the Zombie Leader.

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Jade Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 11:38 pm Jade(Quote)

I dunno, I think I may have a rival leader for her, my 43+5 baby girl didn’t explode either. Unfortunately for your little (or not so little anymore) one, we may now have a rivalry lol.

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Heather had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 11:22 am (Quote)

How can they not hear how STUPID they are when they say these things?

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rachel had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 11:34 am (Quote)

Oooh so my ds survived because he was born at 39w4d. Got it.

I shudder at how his health could have been affected had he had imediate cord clamping. He had shoulder dystocia so not only did he need that cord blood while he was being resuscitated, but I have pics taken immediately after birth, and hisface is purple but his body was WHITE. I wonder how much less blood volume he had than a newborn with a complication-free birth?

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adrienne Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 7:48 pm adrienne(Quote)

I have a similar birth story, except it was past 41 weeks. you know, when babies DIE form delayed cord clamping…

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Jena had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 11:50 am (Quote)

So when was the last time you heard, read, or witnessed a case of a mother’s heart pumping her baby so full of blood via that fire hose-like umbilicus that the baby swelled up, turned red, and popped?

Never? It doesn’t work that way? OH! Well then I’d say that new babe needs all the VITAL, LIFE-SUSTAINING FLUID it can get, whether they’re born before or after your arbitrary deadline.

What the crap is “too much blood”?? Is that why they rush the baby off t the scales? “Baby weighs 8 lbs, 4 oz.” “Okay, that means there should only be X oz of blood. Check that!” “Um… how?”

Yeah.

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Laura Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 7:14 pm Laura(Quote)

“So when was the last time you heard, read, or witnessed a case of a mother’s heart pumping her baby so full of blood via that fire hose-like umbilicus that the baby swelled up, turned red, and popped?”

Yep, their swelling up just like the girl in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. Haven’t you heard, there are cases of newborns popping all over the place??! It’s an epidemic! There’s a dire need of more Oompa-Loompa’s on the L&D floor to keep all these babies from popping.

Birth center and homebirth’s don’t have any newborns getting too much blood after 40 weeks… somehow the twinkle lights and the magical Unicorn imbues the newborns with special popping-proof capabilities when not in the hospital… no need for any Oompa’s. It’s a good thing too, because personally I’ve found them a little creepy.

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Alyson Miers had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 11:52 am (Quote)

I think we should have more than one special day of the week around here. For example, we could have Stupid Saturdays for entries like this, in which you feel yourself becoming stupider from having read them.

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Aron had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 12:04 pm (Quote)

*sniff* Do I smell smoke? Oh! Look at your pants! Shame. They were Armani, weren’t they? Don’t worry, your office has these handy paper gowns. I’ll wait right here while you grab one and then we can finish our chat. *bright smile*

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Kristin had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 12:08 pm (Quote)

Too MUCH blood?
What is he going to pop like Violet Beauregard?

Or do you think you will have to make a mad dash to the bathroom (and not have time to sit there and delay clamping) since you can predict that you will be having the enchiladas for lunch that day….

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Heather p had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 12:32 pm (Quote)

Mu ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! (Wipes years from eyes)

Doc, that its so funny. Now tell me, do they truly teach such things in medical school or have you really seen a baby burst from too much blood?

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Heather p had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 12:34 pm (Quote)

Oops, meant to say tears. Stupid phone.

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Jena Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 3:17 pm Jena(Quote)

Women have been trying for ages to wipe years from their eyes.

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Heather P Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 7:57 pm Heather P(Quote)

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Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 12:59 pm (Quote)

Oh my eyes! The stupid! It burns!

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Kemi Reply:
August 21st, 2011 at 4:36 am Kemi(Quote)

I can’t stop giggling at your comment! Brilliant!!!

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Nikki had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 1:01 pm (Quote)

::bangs head on desk:: Yeah, I’m sure during all that time in the womb and until the 40th week, the placenta knows *not* to over-fill the baby with blood, but once the “expiration” due date has come and gone, that fail-safe ceases to work and your baby is just a little blood balloon waiting to happen! >.<

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VBAC Mama had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 1:37 pm (Quote)

So stupid it hurts…

Good thing nobody told my 41 and 42 week babies they were getting too much blood! In fact, I only had one jaundiced baby, and that was the c/s-immediate cord clamped baby.

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Meg had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 3:16 pm (Quote)

Did this guy get his education from the Greeks? We don’t deal in humors anymore, doc. Next he’ll be bleeding this poor kid!

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Kat had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 6:47 pm (Quote)

So, before 40 weeks, the enclosed system of baby + placenta contains the correct blood volume for the baby. But after 39 weeks 6 days, the amount of blood just JUMPS drastically so that there’s too much, and such a high volume that it causes danger to the baby.

Riiiiiggghht.

Where exactly does all that extra blood come from? What is the process by which this sudden and drastic disaster occurs? Why hasn’t anyone studied this phenomenon? If we could reproduce it in individuals who have blood loss that is borderline requiring transfusion, we could stimulate sudden massive blood production! We might even save LIVES!

Oh, wait so you made it all up? Thought so.

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Rachel had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 7:39 pm (Quote)

Wow, that is about the dumbest thing I have heard. I am not sure what this doctor thinks delayed clamping is exactly but his definition must be different than most other peoples. With my last three the cord was clamped the second they were born. With my first one (delivered by my family practice doctor)at my last prenatal he discussed what he does with the cords and it was exactly what he did at her birth. Basically, if the cord is pulsing and the baby is not yet crying he waits until the baby cries b/c (in his opinion) the baby gets O2 from the blood in the cord while it is still pulsing that the baby is not yet getting through breathing. Apparently most other doctors disagree but it was his practice at the time and it made sense to me and my hubby so we were fine with it.

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Jade Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 11:43 pm Jade(Quote)

The situation with your first happened to me twice. The first time I was in hospital and they cut the cord straight away, thereby creating their own medical emergency when there need not have been one. The second time, my HB midwife left her cord and she pinked up quite quickly but in her own time.

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Sheva had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 8:58 pm (Quote)

The blood in the placenta is the baby’s, sent there by baby’s heart to get nutrients from mom. So, why can’t you wait a minute til baby gets it back?? Are you saying that the baby’s body makes too much blood?? That makes no sense at all.

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Christina had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 9:31 pm (Quote)

I’m reading a book about home birth that was written in the early ’70′s. In the book a pediatrician talks all about the importance of delayed cord clamping. I found it kind of funny that this was being talked about even way back then. Why some 30 years later are most doctors still so resistant to this idea?

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Rebecca Reply:
August 21st, 2011 at 5:15 am Rebecca(Quote)

Because it takes time. And since doctors are paid by procedure, not by amount of time. . . . Even doctors who are on a set salary (and these days many are- its the hospital/office doing the billing by procedure) they likely have more patients they are dealing with at the same time, especially if they’re the attending

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Rachel had this to say, Aug 20, 2011 @ 9:40 pm (Quote)

My daughter is 13 (dr who delivered her always waited until the baby cried–seems American doctors no longer do this) so I looked for a more recent study. I realize that most of us here in the States don’t like to think that we are anything but the best but take a moment to read this study about delayed cord clamping I found
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070816193328.htm

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Melissa had this to say, Aug 21, 2011 @ 9:59 am (Quote)

I’m a NICU nurse and our neo docs advise that, unless a baby is in medical danger, that ALL babies have delayed cord clamping for at least a minute. We even chart it in our H&P in the chart for our patients. The only time we don’t delay cord clamping is when we have a baby without respiratory effort that requires immediate help. A lot of the OBs have fought hard against the neo docs recommendations, but the evidence is clear!

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Sheva Reply:
August 21st, 2011 at 7:48 pm Sheva(Quote)

The doctors you work with sound really great! For those babies who need immediate help – the intact cord could help them so much! What if you did resuscitation on the bed, so the baby could get the benefits of your work, plus still have oxygen from mom? It’s being done in some countries – can you ask your doctors about it? I’d love to hear what they feel about such an idea. It would mean working around the mother, and also moving equipment around, but it makes a lot of sense…

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Tee had this to say, Aug 21, 2011 @ 9:42 pm (Quote)

The arguements against delayed cord clamping is one that I will never understand. Seriously, do these doctors get docked five dollars off their paycheck for every minute that the cord remains unclamped? Because that’s most certainly the ONLY explanation I can come up with!

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