Effects of anesthesia and Ergotrate on postnatal placental transfusion
Rucker (1949) made a presentation at the annual meeting of the South Atlantic
Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He had, with Frischkorn 10 years
earlier, described the appearance of umbilical cord pulsations as part of a study to
determine the increase in blood volume gained durin postnatal placental transfusion.
He emphasized some interesting points:
"We found that whether or not the cord had ceased to pulsate was the significant
factor and not the length of time that the exposed cord was allowed to pulsate."
Pulsations of the cord are from the infant's heart, and indicate continuing need of
placental circulation. Clearly events in transition from placental to pulmonary
respiration are still not well understood. Wouldn't it better then to go along with
nature's time-table?
Rucker also noted:
"In our series, the cords continued to pulsate for a longer time than in Budin's
(1875) cases, and we thought that this difference might have been due to the
anesthesia that our patients received."
Use of the uterotonic drug Ergotrate, however, caused the cords to cease pulsating
sooner.
- Rucker MP. Late ligation of the umbilical cord. Am J Ob Gyn 1949 Dec; 58(6):1117-9.