Having a baby is an exciting and responsible process not only for parents, but also for the baby. If possible, it should flow naturally and as easily as possible - the state of health of both depends on this. And now the newborn is in her mother’s stomach, and after some time the doctors start another mandatory procedure - cutting the umbilical cord. But does everyone understand when exactly this should happen? Meanwhile, the state of the child largely depends on this!
The relationship between mother and child
What is the umbilical cord? This is a special body, the importance of which is clearly not to be underestimated. It is due to it that the connection between the mother’s body and the embryo, and later the fetus, is ensured. In another way, this organ is called the umbilical cord. At the same time, one end of it comes from the placenta, and the other is “fixed” on the abdominal wall of the baby. It is in this place that a navel is formed.
The smooth shell of the umbilical cord is similar to rubber - resilient and shiny. The thickness of the cord is 15-20 mm. As for the length, it varies from 500 to 700 mm, which gives the fetus relative freedom in the cavity of the genital organ. At the same time, this can lead to dangerous habitats, which can make the process of natural birth much more difficult.
What is the importance of cutting the umbilical cord? Its main function is to provide the child with necessary nutrients for the period of its intrauterine development and the removal of metabolic products. In other words, the described organ is the only opportunity for the child to develop fully. But through the umbilical cord, the child also breathes. But he does it in a different way - through the blood, because the lungs are not yet fully developed, and he himself swims in the amniotic fluid.
The umbilical cord is needed while the baby is inside the mother, but after birth, the need for it disappears - and it is cut. The moment when it is cut off is marked by the period of termination of intrauterine development and the beginning of a new life for the child. But when exactly should this be done?
Brief anatomical reference
The umbilical cord, which binds the fetus to the mother's body, includes two arteries and one vein. The first deliver the baby blood rich in oxygen and nutrients. Vienna is responsible for the removal of carbon dioxide and metabolic products.
All this is placed in a gelatinous connective tissue, which ultimately forms the umbilical cord. This medium protects blood vessels from mechanical damage, including kinking and twisting.
The case against early umbilical cord circumcision
As we know, after the birth of the baby, the umbilical cord is being cut. Nevertheless, not everyone understands the full responsibility of this procedure. You can’t immediately take and cut such an important organ for a child after it is born. And that's why…
While the baby passes through the birth canal, it “shrinks” a little and a certain amount of blood (about 200 ml) leaves the umbilical cord from his body. Thanks to this, it becomes easier for him to pass along the passage to the light. And after he appeared, the blood comes back through the umbilical cord. And if the doctor does not hesitate and immediately “cuts off” this connection between the mother and the child, he deprives him of the replenishment of “blood loss”. Is it a joke - a whole glass of plasma ?!
The liver, which is responsible for the synthesis of blood cells, is forced to experience increased stress in order to restore lost balance. And since this organ in a child is still not completely developed, it is not able to simultaneously engage in the synthesis of blood cells and the excretion of bilirubin. This is precisely the importance of late cutting of the umbilical cord.
For this reason, many children in maternity hospitals develop jaundice, which is purely physiological in nature. And which is characteristic, those children who had a similar phenomenon in a mild form could have completely avoided this if the doctors had cut the umbilical cord not immediately after the birth of the baby, but a little later. In the case of a strong stage of jaundice, it was necessary to wait for the end of the pulsation of the umbilical cord after childbirth.
Another negative factor
There is another negative factor after the umbilical cord is cut immediately after birth. And the point here is as follows. Although the baby, after birth, is outside the genital organ, he is still connected to the mother through the umbilical cord, through it the blood of the baby and, accordingly, the oxygen also enter.
Here is another argument against cutting the umbilical cord during childbirth. Immediately after the birth of the baby, the lungs are still stuck together, and a certain time must pass for their disclosure. Moreover, this should happen gradually and smoothly. Therefore, while disconnecting is by no means impossible. If this is nevertheless done, then the child literally has nothing to breathe, and he takes his first breath.
His lungs, which are still weak, are forced to open abruptly, which for a child is comparable to a burn and hurts him.
Hour X
How much time must pass so that later it is possible to break the bond between the child and the mother without any consequences? By and large, everything here is purely individual. But the main guideline for cutting the umbilical cord is after the end of the pulsation or its noticeable weakening. In some cases, it is enough to wait 5 minutes, in others a little more - up to 20 minutes. According to some experts, it is better to withstand at least 24 hours. During this period, all the energy from the placenta will be successfully transferred to all the meridians of the child’s body, which corresponds to the Tibetan tradition.
In other cases, the energy connection is left intact for the next few days. However, this requires some preparation and effort to prevent rotting of the placenta. Moreover, it should be on a par with the child, not lower and not higher. It is very important for blood circulation.
Sacrament since ancient times
Since ancient times, the procedure for breaking the mother from her child was akin to a true sacrament. As they thought in those centuries - at this time the child was “charged” with the positive energy that he would need in his future life. Moreover, if you entrust childbirth with cutting the umbilical cord to a friendly person, this was considered a good sign.
Now everything has changed dramatically - childbirth takes place in specialized institutions, where sterility is strictly observed. In most cases, the connection between the child and the mother is interrupted by the doctor using special medical instruments, which are pre-processed without fail. As a result, the risk of birth infection is minimized.
Anatomically, the umbilical cord is arranged so that after a certain period of time after the birth of the baby, it begins to atrophy, and on its own. After all, the need for this body disappears, and it is no longer needed. Previously, the period of cutting was determined solely by doctors. Only they decided exactly when to carry out such a responsible and important procedure.
Now, in numerous private clinics, parents themselves decide on cutting the umbilical cord - to do this (to the father) or to entrust it to the doctor. But in any case, doctors are always present next to the woman to control the whole situation.
Severe stress
Does it hurt a child when the umbilical cord is cut? In order to answer this question, it is worth understanding how the birth process proceeds. Meanwhile, this is a rather severe stressful situation not only for the mother, but also for her child. Many women believe that their baby does not feel anything, in reality, everything is not as it might seem at first glance. After all, the child first moves along the birth canal, then falls into a new and unusual habitat. And since newborns still cannot speak, they express their emotional state by crying.
At the same time, the birth of a child is a pure psychological load on his body. If childbirth proceeds well, then when manipulating using scissors to cut the umbilical cord of physical pain, children usually do not experience. Otherwise, obstetrician-gynecologists would give the children pain medication, but, as practice shows, they don’t do that.
Mother Nature provides everything from the beginning of conception to the very birth of a baby. When the umbilical cord is cut off, the baby also does not feel physical pain due to the physiological characteristics of the umbilical cord, again - it simply does not have nerve endings.
After the mother puts the baby to the breast, he calms down a bit and endorphins are produced in his body. Thanks to this, the baby transfers the umbilical cord calmly. For a long time, postpartum tactics ruled out this possibility, but after the research, everything changed.
It has been proven that when the baby lies on the mother’s chest, he better adapts to spontaneous breathing. And only then scissors for cutting the umbilical cord are used. And this means that getting used to new conditions is going well.
From extreme to extreme ...
As we now know, it is impossible to cut the umbilical cord immediately after giving birth (God forbid, still in the process) for certain reasons. However, in a number of countries, they still adhere to the procedure for early breaking the connection between mother and child. For example, in Europe and the USA there are even norms where it is prescribed that this “operation” must be carried out after a certain period of time after the appearance of the baby (from 30 to 60 seconds).
From another point of view, you should wait for the self-falling off of the umbilical cord. This is the so-called practice of "lotus birth." That is, the mother remains connected with the baby for several days through an important intrauterine organ.
The truth is somewhere nearby ... And usually it is exactly in the middle - many scientists are inclined to the general opinion that the umbilical cord should be cut off after its pulsation stops or a noticeable weakening occurs.
Cord Cutting Technique
Postpartum activities, including umbilical cord circumcision, largely depend not only on the medical institution where the baby is born, but also on the country. Most obstetrician-gynecologists after the appearance of the child immediately put him on the mother’s chest, without touching the umbilical cord. This practice already has a scientific basis and has a positive effect on the well-being of the baby and woman in childbirth. In addition, in this case, the risk of lowering hemoglobin levels is eliminated.
How is the procedure done? To begin with, special clips-terminals are applied to the umbilical cord to completely stop the blood flow of the umbilical vessels. In this case, the first clamp falls on the area a few centimeters from the abdomen of the child, the other is located closer to the placenta.
The need for preliminary compression of the umbilical cord terminals is due to the fact that the woman does not develop severe bleeding after childbirth. After its dissection, the terminal holds for some time - this is again necessary to avoid serious complications.
The exact time for which the terminals are left after cutting the umbilical cord in each case depends on many factors. If a woman has a blood coagulation disease, accordingly, the gap will be large. The exact time is set by the obstetrician who leads the birth process.
Care Rules
After the umbilical cord is cut, responsible stump care is required. This is necessary in order to reduce the risk of infection, because the stump of a cut umbilical cord represents a wound surface. It takes several days to heal, during which it is necessary to care for this area.
As a rule, women in the maternity hospital are taught the intricacies of this kind of hygiene. In addition, the discussion of recommendations is still at the stage of discharge of a woman from the hospital home. An important rule of care is to keep the place of attachment of the residue to the baby’s tummy clean and dry.
To do this, after cutting the umbilical cord, it is enough to adhere to simple rules:
- Each time, before touching the abdomen of a child, you must wash your hands.
- You should not dress the child in tight clothes - at least until the umbilical process disappears. It is better to give preference to T-shirts, vests.
- On sale are special diapers for newborns, where there is a recess for the navel.
- As often as possible to arrange a baby air baths.
Only in no case should you touch the stump, much less try to tear it off, even if it seems that it is about to fall away. This process should end without outside involvement.
Emergency situation
That we should not cut off the umbilical cord immediately after the appearance of the child, we now know. At the same time, as obstetric practice shows, certain clinical cases may arise when you can not hesitate to cut it off.
In particular, we are talking about the Rh factor and delayed cutting of the umbilical cord. If the Rhesus conflict is clearly observed: when the mother and the child have Rh factors different. But what is the term? Rhesus conflict is a rather dangerous pathological condition that can lead to the development of no less serious complications. For this reason, in order to avoid many unpleasant and sometimes detrimental consequences, doctors decide to immediately cut the umbilical cord.
And if you do not touch the umbilical cord at all ?!
Maybe not touch the umbilical cord at all and wait until it falls off on its own? A similar question interests many parents. In fact, the umbilical cord itself can dry out after the baby is born. As a rule, such a situation is relevant in cases where parents, for some reason that is only clear to them, decide to give birth at home.
It is immediately worth noting that this kind of practice is not welcomed by many doctors. Doctors are of the opinion that cutting the umbilical cord is a must. Let it be carried out not immediately after the birth of the baby, but after a certain period of time. But in any case, this must be done.
Otherwise, after the ripple of the umbilical cord is completed, the process of decay will begin, which is not very good. Here, and before infection is not so far away. And there, the development of serious complications cannot be avoided. For this reason, it is better to responsibly approach the birth process and act according to the situation.
In conclusion
In conclusion, it remains to wish health to all women within whom a new life is developing. All the efforts spent are worth the birth of a healthy baby. And for this, it is worthwhile to responsibly approach the procedure for cutting the umbilical cord. Indeed, as we now know, a lot of things depend on the correctness of its implementation.
As a consolation, you can whisper the good wishes of the child when cutting the umbilical cord. Then it can have a calming effect on the baby.