Links that an OB would trust on delayed cord clamping

[Minniebees]

Jaundice is a pet issue of mine because my son may be damaged from jaundice, so I definitely feel a knee jerk reaction when people say jaundice is not a problem. It can be a major life long problem. And actually, I need to just stop there because I'm positive that what I have to say will not be welcome here. Just be proactive about jaundice because it can severely damage your baby's brain.

And lastly, a healthy baby is born with the amount of blood volume and blood pressure they need. If they do not have it, it wasn't because of the cord but because your baby has very serious medical problems.

[papoosecaboose]

My daughter has Auditory Processing Disorder, and I will always believe it was from untreated jaundice as a newborn. She had it pretty bad after we came home from the hospital, but I did not realize it could cause brain damage. By the time she went for her 2 week checkup, it had faded. She was very slow to learn how to talk and cannot understand people very well. She will struggle with this disability for the rest of her life and I feel so terrible knowing that I may have been able to prevent it.

[songbird516]

Originally Posted by Minniebees Jaundice is a pet issue of mine because my son may be damaged from jaundice, so I definitely feel a knee jerk reaction when people say jaundice is not a problem. It can be a major life long problem. And actually, I need to just stop there because I'm positive that what I have to say will not be welcome here. Just be proactive about jaundice because it can severely damage your baby's brain. And lastly, a healthy baby is born with the amount of blood volume and blood pressure they need. If they do not have it, it wasn't because of the cord but because your baby has very serious medical problems.

That's why I said "mild to moderate jaundice", which is what may be related to physiological cord clamping. I'm sorry about your son, but no study has linked serious jaundice with allowing the cord to pulse. I am a proponent of what is safest based on evidence, and the evidence is on the side of allowing the baby to get most of the cord blood.

[chandni3]

That's interesting that Jaundice can be damaging. Do you think the fact that they kick you out of the hospital the next day contributes to parents not realizing their baby has jaundice so bad?

[papoosecaboose]

Well fwiw, my last baby left the hospital at 24 hours old (by my request) and they still were on alert that his levels were borderline. They said we could be discharged, but our ped said he needed to get his levels checked the next day. Sure enough they were higher and he did need a billi blanket for a few days. I'm thankful our ped was on top of things. Guess it depends on the baby and the doc.

Also wanted to add that 4 of my 5 have had jaundice and the cord was clamped immediately with all. I don't know anything about the research one way or another, but this is my own little study. LOL