Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping and Newborn Health

So in China, standard hospital care is that you do not clamp the newborn baby's umbilical cord until pulsation stops.

Interesting. Or at the very least, one minute long, which is different from American hospitals where- Okay ... basically, you know, within seconds, immediately.

Okay, so let's dive into this. Yeah, why do they do that? I'm- I've never heard that.

So the umbilical cord, right, when the newborn is born, it can keep pulsing for several minutes, even up to sometimes 40 minutes, right, half an hour.

It takes as long as it takes. And that blood carries oxygen, iron, stem cells, and white blood cells, and supports your baby's transition after birth.

Mm. It's your baby's blood and it belongs to them.

It's so fascinating, like, these little things.

But, I mean, you would never know until you have a child.

Like, I've never heard of that in my life, but- Yeah, but if you clamp the cord immediately after your baby's born, it can deprive your baby of around 30% of their blood volume.

Wow. Whereas if you delay until the cord is floppy and white, it means the baby gets all of their blood and stem cells, and that is building blocks for future health.

Mm. And if you delay cord clamping for premature babies, it reduces the risk of death in the NICU by 30%, right? So that's lower mortality, fewer brain bleeds, and less needs for blood transfusions.

I mean, it, it really makes perfect sense. It's the nutrients that's in that cord.