By Heather Haskin

From the moment you find out that you are pregnant, your mind starts racing over all the things you will do to give your baby the best start possible. You watch your diet, skip happy hour in favor of that prenatal yoga class, and choose your OB almost as carefully as you chose your husband. Still, you might be surprised to know that what is part of standard procedure in most hospitals, immediately clamping the umbilical cord, can rob your newborn of vital health benefits.

Delayed Clamping
The umbilical cord is a baby’s lifeline while growing in the womb, delivering iron-rich red blood cells, oxygen, nutrients, immunity-boosting, cancer-fighting T-cells, and stem cells (prized for their ability to repair damaged tissue and restore function). When a baby is born, the umbilical cord still pulsates as it continues delivering up to 100 ml of cord blood to the infant.

Delayed cord clamping simply means waiting to clamp the cord until it stops pulsating. This process generally takes an estimated 1-3 minutes, and studies indicate it’s especially beneficial for preemies (who have shown less severe breathing problems, better oxygen levels, and higher iron levels with delayed cord clamping), but that flow is cut short, and those benefits lost, when clamping takes place within seconds of delivery.

I chose to delay cord clamping with both of my boys. My second son was born with Down syndrome, almost 3 weeks early, with three holes in his heart and pulmonary hypertension. I know that delayed cord clamping helped him breathe easier, grow stronger, and eventually thrive. I can also attest to the benefits I received. (When delivering the placenta, it practically fell out!)

A June 2006 study by UC Davis nutrition professor, Kathryn Dewey, and nutrition graduate student, Camila Chaparro, found that delaying cord clamping by just two minutes can increase iron levels, lower anemia risk, and result in less need for transfusions and less incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage.

More iron also means a healthy boost for newborns’ nervous systems and cognitive function, as researchers pointed out in a study published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in April 2006. So, why would anyone clamp the cord early?

A Choice to Make
Early cord clamping became standard practice in the mid-seventeenth century, to spare bed linens. Today early cord clamping allows hospital staff to work more quickly, making it cost-effective.

Expectant parents should also note that delayed cord clamping is not compatible with cord blood banking. Olivia Juhn, an OB/GYN with Sutter Roseville Medical Center, explains, "In order to have an adequate sample, you need as much blood as you can obtain, and if there is a delay in cord clamping, it can decrease the amount of blood collected.” Cord blood banking generally requires clamping of the cord within 30 seconds in order to collect at least 100 ml of cord blood and an adequate number of stem cells.

If you choose delayed cord clamping, I recommend creating a birth plan, as I did, at www.BirthPlan.com, so your doctor and the hospital staff are aware of your decision.

Heather Haskin lives in Roseville with her husband and two boys. She has a BA in Child Development, twelve years’ experience in the field of special needs, and is President and CEO of the National Down Syndrome Coalition. To contact Heather or learn more, visit www.NDSCoalition.org.