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“Similarity
principle – the basic law of nature” in Russian “Do as you would be done by” or “As
the call, so the echo”
in Russian “The family clan is a protection” in Russian “Baby: to be or not to be…?” in
Russian “Give baby its blood back: why is early umbilical cord cutting
dangerous?” in Russian "Cesarean section: Pros and cons" in Russian “Why do children get sick?” in Russian “ Child’s mental and physical health depends on family”
in Russian "Factors that affect aggressively the physical and mental health" in
Russian " Manipulation vaccine" in Russian |
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Give Baby Its Blood Back:
Why Is Early Umbilical Cord Cutting Dangerous? Nadezhda Ionova in Russian |
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Can you
imagine what kind of stress is experienced by the poor baby, when it’s
finally been born? Instead of its mother’s breast – as a reward for going
through tortures and a hard work - it has to go through a variety of
unpleasant medical procedures. In overwhelming majority of cases as soon as
the baby leave its mother’s womb, his umbilical cord gets dissected. This way
it loses not only its connections with the mother but a part of its own blood
(for more on this topic, please, read further). Then medical staff spanks the
baby in order to hear the first cry as soon as possible (which is really
unnecessary in case if the umbilical cord hasn’t been cut yet), carry it away
from its mother, wash off vernix, which should
protect and nurture baby’s skin during the first hours of life, apply eye
drops that cause pain, weight, stretch for height measurement, swaddle …. One can write
the huge book about it. I will try if I have time to describe in more detail consequences
of medicamentous birth management in
other articles. But now I would like to dwell upon a procedure of cutting an
umbilical cord. Right before
labor a baby looks too big comparing to the size of birth canal it has to go
through. The most incredible moment is when the baby’s head is passing
through pelvic inlet. It is a miracle every time. The form of the baby’s head
changes cranial bones are displaced, they may even overlap each other.
Besides, the baby simply becomes smaller. How can it be? Very simple. The
baby’s body is experiencing high pressure, while going through the birth
canal. Thus a third of its blood,
which is about 100-150ml, is simply squeezed out to placenta. This way the
baby is born “a squeezed orange”. After being born the baby receives this
blood back, while the umbilical cord is pulsing, given that it hasn’t been
cut. Thus, it manages to get back 60-90 ml (that is almost 20 %) of blood
enriched with oxygen, hemoglobin and antibodies, which helps to prevent
anemia. If the umbilical cord is cut, this blood becomes a property of
cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies. For comparison – for an adult loss of
10% of blood is already considered to be dangerous. So why do we have to
impose this kind of danger to a tiny human being, that has just come into this
world? Who gave doctors the right to take away baby’s blood? In order for a
baby to start its life strong and healthy, it is necessary to use all
resources, and early cutting of an umbilical cord is a too generous donation. There is a
myth that after labor baby’s blood can flow into placenta if positioned above
it (the child is on its mother’s breast, placenta is in uterus). Actually,
the nature is wiser, than we are inclined to think. Right after a birth of
the child, blood vessels (umbilical arteries), transporting blood from the
child to Besides, that
the child loses blood as a result of early cutting of an umbilical cord,
there is a risk at mum of retained placenta.
The placenta is attached to the walls of an
uterus by a large number of tiny blood vessels, through which the quarter (!)
of blood of a future mother goes up at the end of pregnancy. After the baby’s
birth all these vessels are supposed to contract, in order to prevent
hemorrhage during the expulsion of afterbirth. It is considerable recovery
work on the success of which the health of a new mother depends. And this
process should go the way it is intended by nature. The best preventive
measures against bleedings and
complications during the expulsion of afterbirth is to give a breast to the
child and not to hurry the mother to give birth to a placenta, not to press
on her stomach, not to pull an
umbilical cord and not to cut off it earlier than it is necessary. Uterine
involution, which is especially strong during the first breastfeeding,
provides easier separation of placenta. When the baby is latched on right
after labor, the level of oxitocin in the mother’s
blood is rising naturally and there is no need for introduction of
artificial oxytocin or methylergometrine.
However, naturally the placenta is born during one-two hours after a birth of
the child. Nevertheless, 2-3 decades ago it was considered to be quite
normal, but according to modern clinical obstetrics it is too long (as though
in these 30 years the female organism has suddenly changed …) – according to
Russian maternity hospital rules the mother is obliged to produce placenta in
5-10, maximum 30 minutes after the delivery. And in order for the new mother
to be able to do it with such fantastic speed, they inject her with
artificial oxytocin or methylergometrine.
The use of artificial oxytocin and haste can lead to incomplete
separation of placenta and to uterine bleeding, which in their turn can
result in serious consequences. In case if after 30 minutes the placenta
hasn’t been produced the obstetrician performes
manual removal of afterbirth, which guarantees five days course of
antibiotics. That is why
the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends to wait until the afterbirth
is finally produced or at least until the umbilical cord has stopped pulsing
before cutting it. They believe that this is better both for the mother and
the baby. Fortunately, the medical centers, the centers of traditional
obstetrics engaged in natural delivery and observing not only these but also
many other rules of May, 11th 2009 |
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