July 2004
8
Increased
prevalence of childhood disorders
minimal dysfunction [67, 70]. But can any damage within the brain be
considered minimal?
Umbilical cord clamping is a
tradition based
on opinion. It is understandable how clamping the cord might in the
past have been
thought of as a way to prevent hemorrhage.
The thinking that polycythemia and jaundice could be prevented
by clamping
the cord is more recent. But bilirubin-staining of the brain
is selective for particular subcortical nuclei, recognized early-on as the same sites
vulnerable to ischemic damage [77-87].
Placental blood is not
superfluous; it is not blood that might overload the circulatory system of the infant,
nor should it be discarded or stored for possible use in the future. Placental blood is part of an infant's prenatal circulatory
system, essentiall
for respiration. The lungs need
the placental blood before they
can take over
the respiratory functions.
9. Increased prevalence of childhood disorders
Prevalence of autism, attention deficit disorder, asthma,
diabetes, and other childhood conditions appear to have increased dramatically over the
past decade or two. Some of these
may be the unintended
outcomes of the protocol for immediate umbilical cord clamping, which has become standard practice
during the same
period of time. Follow-up studies must be conducted far longer than
discharge from
neonatal care nurseries. Language development is the most important
early outcome
to investigate.
Failure in school, truancy,
school dropout,
erratic employment, vagrancy, and criminal activity are later outcomes that
