Umbilical Cord Attached to Placenta for Extra Minutes Improves Baby's Health

Research has proven again that leaving the baby attached to the umbilical cord for a few extra minutes after birth promises additional benefits to the baby's health.

Umbilical cord is the channel that connects a baby to its mother in the womb and transfers oxygen, food and blood from the placenta to the baby. Detaching the baby from the umbilical cord within seconds, leaving 2-3 cm of the cord on the baby's belly button, after birth is the usual practice followed by most of the Doctors and midwives around the world.

However, the study published in The Cochrane Library found that clamping the umbilical cord at less than 60 seconds after birth, affected the amount of blood transferred from mother to the baby, while waiting for a little more time helped improve blood levels in the baby and prevented risks of iron-deficiency.

To reach their conclusion, Philippa Middleton and her team from Australia looked at 3,911 women and their babies, who were part of 15 previous studies.

Delayed cord clamping had helped better a baby's health. Babies had higher hemoglobin levels during the initial days, which further helped maintain iron levels for the next few months.

Interestingly, these newborns also weighed more at birth than others.

"In light of growing evidence that delayed cord clamping increases early haemoglobin concentrations and iron stores in infants, a more liberal approach to delaying clamping of the umbilical cord in healthy babies appears to be warranted," Middleton, one of the authors of the review from the University of Adelaide in Australia, said in a news release.

However, the researchers also highlighted some hidden risks associated with delaying clamping of the cord. According to them, clamping the umbilical cord after 60 seconds can place the baby at the risk of developing jaundice. But the risk was comparatively very small.

"The benefits of delayed cord clamping need to be weighed against the small additional risk of jaundice in newborns," said Middleton. "Later cord clamping to increase iron stores might be particularly beneficial in settings where severe anaemia is common."

The study comes at a time when a new concept known as "Lotus Birth" or "Umbilical Nonseverance" has gained popularity among expecting couples, around the world.  Lotus Birth is a birth practice that allows the placenta to remain attached to the baby until it comes off naturally, i.e. about three to 10 days. According to Mary Ceallaigh, a Lotus Birth advocate and Midwife educator, the procedure is good for the baby and protects it from infections and provides the essential nutrition needed for the initial days after birth.

Ceallaigh is not the only person who advocates delaying the clamping procedure of umbilical cord. According to Dr. James Van Hook, director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, keeping the umbilical cord attached to the newborn for a few minutes after birth can help the baby develop stem cells and immunoglobulin, ABC News reported.