Britain has changed its guidelines for cutting the umbilical cord following birth. The move by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence follows 10 years of lobbying by midwife Amanda Burleigh.
She predicts other nations will soon follow suit.
As Woman's Day magazine recently reported, "Since the 1950s, the standard for cutting the umbilical cord required that it be cut within seconds of the baby's birth. This has been considered best practice as it is meant to reduce the risk of the hormonal injection given to the mother to stop hemorrhaging from reaching the baby's bloodstream and causing health issues. However, since the drug has been replaced with a safer alternative, Burleigh has questioned whether or not this practice should remain in place."
In an interview with The Telegraph, Burleigh discussed her efforts to research whether cutting the umbilical cord while it was still filled with blood might actually be harming babies, or at least depriving them of some benefit.
"Slowly, the evidence to support my theory has started to come out. In 2010, a study found that when the cord wasnt clamped immediately, babies gained up to 214 grams in weight," she said. "In 2011, more research found there was a higher incidence of iron deficiency anemia in babies who had immediate cord clamping, which might have an impact on future neurodevelopment."
One of the biggest hurdles her efforts faced, she noted, was the simple fact that people don't like to change how they do things.
In a petition to the director of Britain's national health department and others, Burleigh wrote that "research has shown that immediate cord clamping deprives the baby of up to 40 percent of its intended blood supply. Reasearch by Farrar, Duley, et al. shows that leaving the cord intact leads to a weight gain of up to 210 grams in the five minutes following birth. The blood that the baby is deprived of contains stem cells, blood cells and other natural hormones, intended to complete the birth process."
Among the potential consequences she noted were long-term anemia and subsequent learning and development problems.
"Patience is the only thing that is needed to leave the cord intact," her petition said.
She and supporters convinced the Royal College of Midwives in 2012. At the time of the petition, she'd also won support from the World Health Organization, UNICEF, International Confederation of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Last November, NICE changed its recommendation, suggesting that the cord be left intact for between one to five minutes and even longer if the parents request it.
She predicts other nations will soon follow suit.
As Woman's Day magazine recently reported, "Since the 1950s, the standard for cutting the umbilical cord required that it be cut within seconds of the baby's birth. This has been considered best practice as it is meant to reduce the risk of the hormonal injection given to the mother to stop hemorrhaging from reaching the baby's bloodstream and causing health issues. However, since the drug has been replaced with a safer alternative, Burleigh has questioned whether or not this practice should remain in place."
In an interview with The Telegraph, Burleigh discussed her efforts to research whether cutting the umbilical cord while it was still filled with blood might actually be harming babies, or at least depriving them of some benefit.
"Slowly, the evidence to support my theory has started to come out. In 2010, a study found that when the cord wasnt clamped immediately, babies gained up to 214 grams in weight," she said. "In 2011, more research found there was a higher incidence of iron deficiency anemia in babies who had immediate cord clamping, which might have an impact on future neurodevelopment."
One of the biggest hurdles her efforts faced, she noted, was the simple fact that people don't like to change how they do things.
In a petition to the director of Britain's national health department and others, Burleigh wrote that "research has shown that immediate cord clamping deprives the baby of up to 40 percent of its intended blood supply. Reasearch by Farrar, Duley, et al. shows that leaving the cord intact leads to a weight gain of up to 210 grams in the five minutes following birth. The blood that the baby is deprived of contains stem cells, blood cells and other natural hormones, intended to complete the birth process."
Among the potential consequences she noted were long-term anemia and subsequent learning and development problems.
"Patience is the only thing that is needed to leave the cord intact," her petition said.
She and supporters convinced the Royal College of Midwives in 2012. At the time of the petition, she'd also won support from the World Health Organization, UNICEF, International Confederation of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Last November, NICE changed its recommendation, suggesting that the cord be left intact for between one to five minutes and even longer if the parents request it.
