The Dangerous Practice of Early Clamping of the Umbilical Cord

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The Dangerous Practice of Early Clamping of the Umbilical Cord

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.

Basics of the Cord Clamping / Brain Damage Issue

 

The following are established facts:

  1. Birth asphyxia (lack of oxygen) causes newborn brain damage.
  2. Before birth, the placenta supplies the brain with oxygen.
  3. After birth, the lungs supply the brain with oxygen.
  4. After the delivery of the child, and before delivery of the placenta, the oxygen supply changes from the placenta to the lungs.
  5. During normal changeover, placental oxygenation continues until pulmonary oxygenation is established.
  6. During normal changeover, the brain is not deprived of oxygen.
  7. During normal changeover, placental blood is transfused into the child, increasing its blood volume.
  8. The increased blood volume flows through the lungs augmented by ventilation to establish pulmonary oxygenation.
  9. After pulmonary oxygenation is established, placental oxygenation ceases - the cord vessels close; the brain's oxygen supply is not interrupted.
  10. The child's innate reflexes control all the above mechanisms and functions.
  11. 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:
    1. Placental oxygenation is arrested and the brain is deprived of oxygen until the lungs function.
    2. Placental transfusion is arrested and the child is hypovolemic.
    3. Blood flow through the lungs and other organs is not optimal and pulmonary oxygenation is not optimal.
    4. 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.

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)

What's New

Autism, ADD/ADHD, and Related Disorders - Is a Common Chidbirth Practice to Blame? by Dr. George Malcolm Morley - This article presents the hypothesis that placental oxygenation until the lungs are functioning should prevent autism and related disorders that are caused by hypoxic brain lesions.

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.

Effect of Delayed Cord Clamping on Iron Stores in Infants Born to Anemic Mothers: A Randomized Controlled Trial - A new study showing that iron stores and hemoglobin in infancy can be improved in babies born to anemic mothers by delaying cord clamping at birth. (ABSTRACT, FULL-TEXT)

To Clamp or Not to Clamp by Dr. George Malcolm Morley - A practical guide for expectant parents to explain the safe use of a cord clamp to their doctor or midwife.

Erasmus Darwin: The Physiology and Iatrogenic Pathology of the Third Stage by Dr. George Malcolm Morley - This is an article for practicing obstetricians and midwives outside of academia; it is a short history of how panicked defensive medicine started the cord clamping error and how many false premises have compounded it and prevented its correction.

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.

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.

Additional Cord Clamping Articles/Letters

Informed Consent for Cord Clamping: Ask Erasmus Darwin by Dr. George Malcolm Morley - A letter to the editor of the British Medical Journal.

Cord Closure: Can Hasty Clamping Injure the Newborn? - By George Malcolm Morley, MB, ChB, FACOG, July 1998, OBG Management.

Early Clamping of the Umbilical Cord: Cutting the Ties That Bind - By Cory Mermer, Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients.
 
 
Current Best Evidence: A Review Of The Literature On Umbilical Cord Clamping - Judith S. Mercer (J Midwifery Womens Health 2001 Nov-Dec;46(6):402-14)

Hypoxic Respiratory Failure: Cause & Prevention - Letter to the Editor by George Malcolm Morley (Pediatrics).

How About Studying Infants Not Subjected to Iatrogenic Injury? - Letter to the Editor by George Malcolm Morley (Pediatrics).

Don't fool with Mother Nature. - Unknown

A Simple Practice to Increase "Red Cell Transport" in Newborns - Letter to the Editor by Cory Mermer (Archives of Disease in Childhood).

A Randomised Controlled Trial of Delayed Cord Clamping in Very Low Birth Weight Preterm Infants (Eur J Pediatr 2000 Oct;159(10):775-7)

 

Nothing hurts a new truth more than an old error. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

 
Early or Late Cord Clamping? - Short article from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 1 Issue 30, July 23, 1999).
Umbilical Cord Clamping. An Analysis of a Usual Neonatological Conduct (Acta Physiol Pharmacol Ther Latinoam 1998;48(4):224-7)
Umbilical Cord Clamping: Beliefs and Practices of American Nurse-Midwives (J Midwifery Womens Health 2000 Jan-Feb;45(1):58-66)
Just One of Many "Trespasses" That Children Bear - Letter to the Editor (British Medical Journal)
If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. - Anatole France (1844-1924)
Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping in Preterm Infants: A Feasibility Study - (Paediatr Child Health 1997 Aug;33(4):308-10)
 
Umbilical Cord Blood: Secret to Brain Repair? - Associated Press Report by Daniel Q. Haney, February 19, 2001
American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement on Cord Blood Banking - (Pediatrics, Volume 104, Number 1, July 1999, pp 116-118.)
 
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Page last updated 4/29/02.
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©Copyright 2002 CordClamping.com. All Rights Reserved.
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.