06/09/2026
For nine months, the placenta and umbilical cord sustain your baby, delivering oxygen, nutrients, stem cells, iron, and life itself. That process doesn’t suddenly become unnecessary the moment the baby takes its first breath.
At birth, a significant amount of the baby’s blood is still contained within the placenta. The umbilical cord continues transferring that blood back to the baby after delivery, which is why many parents and birth advocates choose to wait until the cord has completely finished pulsing and has turned white and limp before considering clamping.
While delayed cord clamping is often measured by a few minutes, a more complete placental transfusion occurs when the cord is left intact for much longer. Waiting 20–30 minutes helps ensure the cord has had ample time to finish its work and gives the baby every opportunity to receive the blood, iron, stem cells, and nutrients that were designed for them.
The placenta belongs to the baby. The blood in the placenta belongs to the baby. There is rarely any benefit to rushing this process in a healthy, uncomplicated birth.
Nature spent nine months building this connection. Allowing an extra 20–30 minutes for it to complete may be one of the gentlest ways to honor the design of birth and give your baby everything that is rightfully theirs.
Note: This post refers to optimal (physiologic) cord clamping—waiting until the cord has finished pulsing and turned white—rather than the standard medical practice of delayed cord clamping for only 1–2 minutes.
📖 The AIMS PIMS (Physiology Informed Maternity Services) team discusses optimal (delayed or deferred) cord clamping - an important part of physiological birth, providing the baby with its full volume of stem-cell and oxygen-rich blood. Full article: https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/optimal-cord-clamping?utm_source=chatgpt.com
🚨 Know a pregnant mom? Share this with her so she can add it to her birth plan. See the comments for a sample birth plan, courtesy of Learn The Risk.
Also see: Learn The Risk of Breaking Your Water to Speed up Labor: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18x9UMWTZq/?mibextid=wwXIfr
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