Birth Injuries Related to Umbilical cord Clamping

www.cordclamp.org

G. M. Morley, MD FACOG

Birth Injuries Related to

Umbilical Cord Clamping:

Autism, cerebral palsy, anemia, hypovolemia, hypotension, ischemia, shock, shock lung, respiratory distress, oliguria, hypoglycemia, ischemic encephalopathy, mental retardation; neural, behavioral and developmental disorders.

The clinical origins of these birth injuries are meticulously recorded on the birth certificate worksheet of every child born in the USA.

“Another thing very injurious to the child, is the tying and cutting of the navel string too soon; which should always be left till the child has not only repeatedly breathed but till all pulsation in the cord ceases. As otherwise the child is much weaker than it ought to be, a portion of the blood being left in the placenta, which ought to have been in the child.”

Erasmus Darwin, Zoonomia, 1801

“Immediately after delivery of the neonate, a segment of the umbilical cord should be doubly clamped ...”

ACOG Practice Bulletins #127, #216, #348, 1989 – 2006

*The “MOST IMPORTANT FINDING was that delayed cord clamping resulted in a 47% reduction of risk of infant anemia.” [1]

*“For each decrement in hemoglobin, [infant anemia] the risk of mental retardation [in grade school] increased by 1.28.” [2, 3]

How many obstetricians / neonatologists understand that when a pulsating cord is clamped, and enough blood volume is removed to cause anemia in infancy, the child’s IQ will be lowered for the rest of its life, possibly to the extent of perpetual dependency?

EARLY CORD CLAMPING –> ANEMIA –> MENTAL RETARDATION

The practice of Immediate Cord Clamping (ICC) became widespread after 1980 with the introduction of neonatal intensive care units and two new medical specialties, neonatology and perinatology. The mandated routine care of the “at risk” birth entails ICC and immediate removal to a resuscitation table for immediate ventilation / oxygenation.

These “ICC” neonates, mainly preemies, C-section deliveries and “fetal distress / asphyxia” births, are thus routinely hypovolemic - , “a portion of the blood [volume] being left in the placenta”; many “normal” births are also subjected to ICC. The degree of blood loss determines the degree of eventual anemia and the scale of other injuries that are recorded on birth certificate worksheets. For thirty years, perinatal academia has promoted an injurious practice that violates the basic principles of birth physiology.

Permanent Neural Injuries

Autism, (autistic spectrum disorder ASD) is the most common cord clamp injury. It is a learning disorder of sound memory and speech. Inability to remember and form sounds (words) impairs mental ability; the severity of ASD is measured by the child’s IQ. The ICC and Cesarean section epidemics parallel the autism epidemic.
Cerebral Palsy follows neonatal (ischemic) encephalopathy and occurs in neonates that are born already compromised by hypovolemia and hypovolemic shock, and are resuscitated by ICC and ventilation.

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References:

Hutton EK, Hassan ES. Late vs Early Clamping of the Umbilical Cord in Full-term Neonates. JAMA, March 21, 2007—Vol 297, No. 11 1241-1252

Lozoff B, Beard J, Long-lasting neural and behavioral effects of iron deficiency in infancy Nut. Rev 2006 May 64 (5 PT 2): S34-S43

Hurtado EK et al. Early childhood anemia and mild to moderate mental retardation. Am J Clin Nut. 1999; 69(1): 115-9.

The following thesis defines the extent of the perinatal professions’ errors and fallacies, and illustrates how a small group of professional midwives have avoided this tragic travesty of modern obstetrical practice:

Birth Brain Injury