Cuttung the Cord too soon should no longer be a discussion that women need to have prior to giving birth. In 2012 the Royal College of Midwives and in 2014 Nice changed their guidance indicating that cutting the cord is now best practice.
This comes after several years of researchers looking at the pros and cons of early versus delayed cord clamping. The main benefits of later clamping (1-5 minutes following birth) include increased weight gain, less iron deficiency anaemia which could impact on childhood neurodevelopement.
And the cons. The extra blood could cause increased incidence of physiological jaundice. But we know how to manage this and it is generally considered to be a natural response to birth in some babies anyway.
About 15% of babies need some form of resuscitation at birth and and early clamping of the cord has been considered essential to facilitate separating baby from mum to a resuscitation cot. However resuscitation tools can now be easily used at the bedside with the baby still attached to mum – for the most part.
It seems that the blood should be left there and not discarded with immediate clamping of the cord.
So to “cut early or not” is no longer something you need add to your birthplan
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