New Beginnings Doula Training

New Beginnings Doula Training
Courses for doulas and online childbirth education

Thursday, September 8, 2011

When do we cut the umbilical cord?


I wanted to post this from here:

Page 37 from HBB Learner's Workbook.[12] Note use of cases to further illustrate clinical pathways depicted in the Action Plan seen in Fig 2. Note coordinated colors and questions. Reprinted from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Helping Babies Breathe, http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/747913_3Learner Workbook; 2010, p37 with permission from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
This is a course that is taught to resuscitate an infant in places that have few resources.  Notice that before the cord is cut, the infant must be breathing.  I found that interesting, because we don't do that here.  Instead, we most often just cut the cord as soon as possible, which has never made sense to me.  If the cord was able to oxygenate the baby inside the mom okay, why not outside.  It has always seemed more sensible to me to allow the cord to stay untouched until the baby is breathing fine on it's own.  Just thought this was an interesting table to look at.

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Birth is a Journey: Does it have to be life changing?


  • One woman might have to climb on an overfilled boat, risking her life and nearly dying as she escapes over the ocean to come to this land. This experience could certainly be life altering. It may very well color the rest of her life, positively or negatively. (I overcame this amazing struggle and here I am triumphant! OR Holy crap, that was SO hard I don’t know if I can go on! By the way, neither response is “right”. No one would judge the woman with the 2nd response.)
  • One woman may buy an airplane ticket, sit on a comfortable 747 and fly to America with a nice smooth flight and landing. She is happy to be in America. Those welcoming her are glad she is here safe and sound. She may only travel by plane 2-4 times in her life, so it is pretty memorable. But the journey itself probably wouldn’t be life changing; it would simply be a journey.
  • One woman may learn to fly an ultra-light plane to lead a flock of geese into America teaching them to migrate. This experience could certainly be empowering and life altering.