The Dangerous Practice of Early
Clamping of the Umbilical Cord
"Another thing very injurious
to the child, is the tying and cutting of the navel string too soon;
which should always be left till the child has not only repeatedly
breathed but till all pulsation in the cord ceases. As otherwise the
child is much weaker than it ought to be, a portion of the blood being
left in the placenta, which ought to have been in the child."
Open Letter to President George W. Bush- Dr. Eileen Nicole Simon writes to
the President in support of Congressman Dan Burton's request for a
White House Conference on childhood autism and discusses how best to
investigate its epidemic increase.
Researchers to present evidence at prestigious autism
conference. See the full report
HERE.
Autism 'more likely' in c-sections- Women who experience difficult
births or deliver their babies by caesarean section are more likely
to have an autistic child than women who had normal births,
according to the largest study of its kind ever undertaken.
[Editor's Note: While there is almost certainly a connection between
C-Sections and Autism, we STRONGLY disagree with the author's
conclusions as to WHYthis association exists.]
A Cord of Prevention
(cover story from "Advance for Nurses" - August 5, 2002 - PDF file)
- This cover featured article discusses the important ongoing work
of researcher Judith Mercer, CNM.
Brainstem Lesions In Autism: Birth
Asphyxia As A Causative Factor by
Eileen Nicole Simon and
George Malcolm Morley -
The authors propose that the increased incidence of autism, infant
anemia, childhood mental disorders and hypoxic ischemic brain
damage, all originate at birth from one cause - immediate umbilical
cord clamping at birth. (This abstract was accepted for
presentation at the upcoming
IMFAR conference [International Meeting for Autism Research]
November 1, 2002 in Orlando, Florida.)
How the Cord Clamp Injures Your Baby’s Brain
by Dr. George Malcolm
Morley - This very long article describes how the placenta and
functioning cord prepare the child for healthy life in the minutes
following birth, and how early cord clamping disrupts this process;
many of the birth injuries caused by loss of blood (hypovolemia) and
lack of oxygen (hypoxia) due to early cord clamping are discussed.
The
Peter Dunn collection - Here is a collection of
papers, dating back more than 35 years, dealing with cord clamping
by Peter Dunn, MD, one of the most well-respected neonatal
authorities in the world.
In the mountains of truth you never climb in
vain. -
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Review of
the Scientific Literature -
In this new section of the website, we will be posting responses to
recently published papers in the scientific literature. Feel free to
check back often.
Why Do Babies Cry?
by Dr. George Malcolm Morley
- An account of the wonderful events that happen to a newborn child and
its mother immediately after birth when they are not interfered with or
disturbed by doctors, midwives and nurses.
Neonatal Transitional Physiology: A New
Paradigm by
Judith Mercer and RL
Skovgaard - Here is the abstract from a new paper published in The
Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing. (CLICK
HERE for the full-text study - pdf file requires Adobe Acrobat
Reader. WARNING - file is very large - approx. 900kB.)
Please be sure to not only read these articles,
but pass them along to as many people as you can, especially your doctor
or midwife.
The following is a small
collection of writing pertaining to the subject of cord clamping. This
list is certainly not anywhere near complete or comprehensive, yet. But
it will hopefully continue to be updated.
Never doubt that a
small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. -
Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
Basics of the Cord Clamping / Brain Damage Issue
The following are established facts:
Birth asphyxia (lack of oxygen) causes
newborn brain damage.
Before birth, the placenta supplies the brain
with oxygen.
After birth, the lungs supply the brain with
oxygen.
After the delivery of the child, and before
delivery of the placenta, the oxygen supply changes from the
placenta to the lungs.
During normal changeover, placental
oxygenation continues until pulmonary oxygenation is
established.
During normal changeover, the brain is not
deprived of oxygen.
During normal changeover, placental blood is
transfused into the child, increasing its blood volume.
The increased blood volume flows through the
lungs augmented by ventilation to establish pulmonary
oxygenation.
After pulmonary oxygenation is established,
placental oxygenation ceases - the cord vessels close; the
brain's oxygen supply is not interrupted.
The child's innate reflexes control all the
above mechanisms and functions.
Those reflexes have been developed over
millions of years for optimal survival of the newborn.
The following are established facts regarding
umbilical cord clamping before pulmonary oxygenation is established:
Placental oxygenation is arrested and the
brain is deprived of oxygen until the lungs function.
Placental transfusion is arrested and the
child is hypovolemic.
Blood flow through the lungs and other organs
is not optimal and pulmonary oxygenation is not optimal.
The child’s life support systems are not
optimal for survival or for optimum health.
Depending on the degree of asphyxia and the
length of time of asphyxia produced by cord clamping, the child will
have varying degrees of brain damage that range from no damage
through degrees of neurological impairment to brain death. Natural
(normal) cord closure prevents birth asphyxia and prevents brain
damage. Articles on this website explain how modern obstetrical and
neonatal care is causing newborn brain damage and how that care can
be corrected; they provides references to support the explanation.
Some scientists claim that
hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic
building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say
there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the
basic building block of the universe. - Frank
Zappa
It can be held certain that information
that is withheld or suppressed
contains truths that are detrimental to the persons involved in
the suppression. - J. Edgar Hoover
Surgeons save 'miracle' baby - "Doctors say that, if the windpipe
had not been cleared, the baby would have died when its umbilical cord,
which provides it with oxygen and nutrients, was cut on birth."
The information contained on this site is not intended as
medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information
from the published scientific/medical literature and the personal research
and experience of many healthcare providers.
ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND
MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS
OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR
LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND
COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH
YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"
