Placental transfusion continuing after birth
Marquis and Ackerman (1973) measured oxygen,
carbon dioxide, and pH in the umbilical arteries and
vein in umbilical cord segments obtained from 1 to
37 seconds after birth, and they compared the
values to the number of breaths taken before
clamping of the cord. For 9 infants the cord was
clamped 1 to 4 seconds after birth and before any
breaths were taken. For 5 infants, the cord was
clamped 30 to 37 seconds after delivery and after 3
to 6 breaths had been taken.
In every case, from 1 to 37 seconds after birth,
oxygen, carbon dioxide, and pH were within the same
range in the arteries and vein of the umbilical cord.
The differences between arterial and venous blood
were similar, regardless of time the cord was
clamped. That oxygen in the umbilical arteries
remained lower than in the umbilical vein returning to
the infant provides evidence that oxygen continues
to be delivered from the placenta, even in infants
who had taken 3 to 6 breaths before cord clamping.
Marquis and Ackerman noted that as the lungs begin
to function, oxygen levels in the umbilical arteries
should begin to increase. The occurrence of 3 to 6
breaths did not result in increased oxygen in blood
returning to the placenta within the 37 seconds
before cord clamping in this study. Marquis and
Ackerman cited the work of Stembera et al. (1965)
who had shown that blood flow to the placenta
continues for nearly 2 minutes after birth.
Marquis and Ackerman concluded:
"...if umbilical blood flow is not artificially
interrupted, then placental gas exchange can
make a substantial contribution to the infant's
oxygen needs over the period of transition to
pulmonary respiration.
...the first 5 breaths appear not to be effective
ventilations, it may be beneficial to delay the
clamping of the umbilical cord until the
pulmonary respiration becomes effective." [1, p
363]
Of course, like so many researchers before, and
continue to do, Marquis and Ackerman clamped the
umbilical cords of 30 infants for the greater good of
science. Isn't it time to revisit the evidence gathered
during the past century, and stop inflicting potential
injury on human infants?
It may be time to begin looking at life-long
development of individuals who exhibited respiratory
depression following immediate clamping of the cord
at birth. Retrospective research is frowned upon,
and some data are always inaccurately recorded,
but among the victims of the autism epidemic,
sufficient information should be available.
Furthermore, impairments of the brainstem auditory
system and its targets for growth and development in
the cerebral cortex can now be looked for using
techniques like functional MRI (fMRI) imaging [3, 4].
(in progress)
- Marquis L, Ackerman BD
(1973) Placental respiration
in the immediate neonatal
period.
- Stembera ZK et al. (1963)
Umbilical blood flow in
healthy newborn infants
during the first minutes after
birth.
- Simon EN (2005) Auditory
agnosia caused by a tectal
germinoma.
- Simon EN (2005) Proposed
research on developmental
language disorders.
- Marquis L, Ackerman BD. Placental respiration in the immediate neonatal
period. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1973 Oct 1;117(3):358-63.
- Stembera ZK, Hodr J, Janda J. Umbilical blood flow in healthy newborn
infants during the first minutes after birth. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1965 Feb
15;91:568-74.
- Simon EN. Auditory agnosia caused by a tectal germinoma. Neurology.
2005 Jul 26;65(2):339; author reply 339. http://www.neurology.
org/cgi/eletters/63/12/2387
- Simon EN. Proposed research on developmental language disorders. http:
//www.inferiorcolliculus.org/presentation.html, 2005