What are the advantages of cutting the umbilical cord immediately after birth versus the advantages of waiting until the umbilical cord has been knocked out? I am due to give birth in September and I have heard that draining the umbilical cord is better than cutting it immediately because it still contains blood that contains a lot of oxygen, iron and stem cells. Because I would like to make an objective choice, I would like to hear the pro-arguments in order to immediately cut them. Because this might jeopardize cord blood donation, right?
Answer
Best,
Your arguments are correct.
Letting out the umbilical cord will pump even more blood to the baby. The extra blood has advantages (less anemia), but also some disadvantages. The blood that is broken down (a natural process) in the liver during the first few days is still difficult for the baby to process. The “excess” of the breakdown products will accumulate in the body such as the skin (looking yellow) and in the brain. If the baby is then placed under a UV lamp, the breakdown products will become water-soluble and can now be excreted by the kidneys.
When the umbilical cord is cut quickly, the volume that can still be donated is less; sometimes even too little for processing. Sometimes, however, even with a quick cut, there is too little for collection and, of course, even after the umbilical cord has been knocked out, it can sometimes still be sufficient for collection.
So it’s a choice.
For a baby who is born prematurely, always go for the knocking out of the umbilical cord. For a baby born on time or even over 40 weeks, I would personally opt for a quick cut. That baby rarely has a problem of anemia and the umbilical cord almost always contains more than enough for donation.
Kind regards,
Answered by
Dr Jasper Verguts
Gynecology Obstetrics
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
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