Over the last few decades doctors and midwives have worked to decide when is the best time to cut the umbilical cord. Since the 1950s doctors and midwives advocated for clamping and cutting the cord within 10 to 20 seconds. Before this time the cord was cut when it stopped pulsating, which was about 5 minutes.
Throughout the last decade the debate medical studies have found there are benefits to delayed cord cutting. The World Health Organization advises doctors and midwives to cut the cord between 1 and 3 minutes after birth. The American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists reports that most doctors today cut the cord within 15 to 20 seconds after birth.
“It’s incredible to see what a difference an extra three minutes and one-half cup of blood can have on the overall health of a child, especially four years later,” said Dr. Ola Andersson, lead author of a major study on clamping and a pediatrician at the department of women and children’s health at Uppsala University in Sweden. “This is very promising, but larger studies are necessary.”
This study found that most newborns whose cords were cut more than three minutes after birth may develop better social and fine motor skills than babies whose cords were cut within 10 seconds. An editorial with the study said, “The extra blood at birth helps the baby to cope better with the transition from life in the womb, where everything is provided for them by the placenta and the mother, to the outside world. Their lungs get more blood so that the exchange of oxygen into the blood can take place smoothly.”
Did you have your child’s cord cut early or later? This is definitely worth talking about with your doctor or midwife.
