Benefits of Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping

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.