Remember that the mom and baby can't feel the cord being cut. They'll place two clamps on the cord. Hold the section of cord to be cut with a piece of gauze under it.
When your baby is born the umbilical cord is cut and there is a stump left. The stump should dry and fall off by the time your baby is 5 to 15 days old. Keep the stump clean with gauze and water only. Sponge bathe the rest of your baby, as well.
Most babies will start breathing or crying (or both) before the cord is clamped. However, some babies do not establish regular breathing during this time. After clamping the cord, most preterm babies are given some form of breathing support like continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
The umbilical cord connects to the baby's abdomen from the placenta, which in turn is connected to the mother's uterus. The placenta is responsible for producing pregnancy hormones, as well as hosting important nutritional exchanges between the mother and baby's blood supply.
When the umbilical cord is not cut, it naturally seals off after about an hour after birth. The umbilical cord and attached placenta will fully detach from the baby anywhere from two to 10 days after the birth.
Given the benefits to most newborns and concordant with other professional organizations, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now recommends a delay in umbilical cord clamping for at least 30–60 seconds after birth in vigorous term and preterm infants.
Waiting too long may result in the infant having too many red blood cells. The excess red cells could lead to newborn jaundice, a kind of blood poisoning resulting from the breakdown of the extra red cells.
A lotus birth is the decision to leave your baby's umbilical cord attached after they are born. The umbilical cord remains attached to the placenta until it dries and falls off by itself. What are the risks of lotus birth? There are no research studies available on this topic.
Yup, your baby on board can feel — and respond — when you stroke your tummy.
Doctors traditionally cut the cord so quickly because of long-held beliefs that placental blood flow could increase birth complications such as neonatal respiratory distress, a type of blood cancer called polycythemia and jaundice from rapid transfusion of a large volume of blood.
Compression in the birth canal
What is undeniable is that babies feel lots of pressure (understatement), and that pressure probably alternates between comfortable, uncomfortable, and highly uncomfortable, depending on the intensity of the contractions.
The umbilical cord delivers oxygen to the baby until blood flow to the placenta stops after birth. The timings will vary for each mother and baby pair. Until then, the blood and oxygen will keep flowing to your little one, even once you have him in your arms, as long as the cord is not clamped.
The first records of cutting before placental delivery hail from the 17th century.
Internally the veins and arteries in the cord close up and form ligaments, which are tough connective tissues. These ligaments divide up the liver into sections and remain attached to the inside of the belly button.
This photo shows what the belly button looks like from inside the abdomen. As you can see, it is not attached to anything in the body. The belly button is where the umbilical cord attaches to the fetus, connecting the developing baby to the placenta.
The sebaceous glands release oil in the skin. If one of these glands in or near the belly button gets backed up or clogged with dirt and oil, a cyst may form under the skin. If the cyst is infected and leaking, a thick off-white to yellow discharge will often come from it.
A golden baby is the baby that is born after a rainbow baby. This baby signifies the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, and the luck parents feel at having two healthy babies in a row.
Delivering the placenta
At this stage, you may be able to push the placenta out. But it's more likely your midwife will help deliver it by putting a hand on your tummy to protect your womb and keeping the cord pulled tight. This is called cord traction.
A caesarean section (C-section or caesarean) is an operation to deliver a baby through a cut in the abdomen (tummy) and uterus (womb). There are several reasons why you might plan for a caesarean, or your medical team might recommend you have a caesarean after labour begins.
The first hour after birth when a mother has uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact with her newborn is referred to as the “golden hour.” This period of time is critical for a newborn baby who spent the past nine months in a controlled environment.
Hospitals treat placentas as medical waste or biohazard material. The newborn placenta is placed in a biohazard bag for storage. Some hospitals keep the placenta for a period of time in case the need arises to send it to pathology for further analysis.
Crying directly after birth
When babies are delivered, they are exposed to cold air and a new environment, so that often makes them cry right away. This cry will expand the baby's lungs and expel amniotic fluid and mucus. The baby's first official cry shows that the lungs are working properly.
"Generally speaking, most obstetricians and providers have recognized that delayed cord clamping is beneficial to your newborn baby," Furr says. "Also, it is entirely within your right to request delayed cord cutting.