As specialists in cord banking, we get a lot of expecting parents asking us whether or not you can safely delay the clamping of the umbilical cord if you plan on storing your baby’s cord blood. The answer is a resounding yes!
Not only is it safe, but choosing to both delay clamping your baby’s umbilical cord and bank your baby’s umbilical cord blood is the best decision you can make for the future of your child – and your family.
Two Incredible Ways to Protect Your Baby
Delayed cord clamping is when parents choose to delay the clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord (more than 30 seconds after giving birth) in order to allow more blood flow to the baby.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the benefits of delayed cord clamping include increased “hemoglobin levels at birth and improves iron stores in the first several months of life, which may have a favorable effect on developmental outcomes,” and “associated with significant neonatal benefits in preterm infants, including improved transitional circulation, better establishment of red blood cell volume, decreased need for blood transfusion, and lower incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis and intraventricular hemorrhage.”
Cord blood banking is when parents decide to store their baby’s umbilical cord blood with a storage bank like Cells for Life. Stem cells are collected at birth, frozen and stored in a liquid nitrogen tank, available at any time to be thawed and transfused into a sick patient (including immediate family members of the donor) in order to treat a variety of diseases.
Stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood are today used to treat over 80 diseases, including cancers of the bone marrow, and there are promising results shown for treatment of traumatic brain injury, Cerebral Palsy, stroke and Diabetes.
“80% of the blood in the cord is transferred in the first minute after birth.”
Since stem cells taken for storage are removed from the umbilical cord only after it has been clamped and cut, the longer you delay the clamping of your baby’s umbilical cord, the fewer stem cells will be available for collection.
However, in her article published by Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood, Dr. Elisabeth Semple, Scientific Director for Cells for Life, explains that “physiological studies in term infants have shown that approximately 80% of the blood in the cord is transferred in the first minute after birth”. Consequently, as long as the mother doesn’t herself suffer from an iron deficiency, clamping can happen as soon as 30-60 seconds after birth, ensuring that baby receives enough iron, while also allowing enough time for cord blood stem cell collection. This means that parents like you, can make the best choice for your child’s future. There’s no need to choose.
Have Questions? We’re here to help.
Before waters break, contractions start and you’re holding your precious baby safe in your arms, you have a lot of prepping to do. While choosing baby names and nursery designs might be things you can handle on your own, questions about safe sleep for baby, car seat safety, or cord blood banking, require some expert advice.
Let us help you learn more about the benefits of delayed cord clamping and cord blood banking for your newborn. Contact us today!
Sources: AOGC: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Committee Opinion 684, January 2017