Delayed cord clamping questions

[Wolfie]

Hi all,
I'm having a home birth (at least that's what we hope for.) We have a birth pool and I may give birth in that, but also may give birth out of it.
I have been very sure for a long time that I want to delay the cord clamping until it stops pulsating (which I've heard can take up to two hours!) so that baby can get his full amount of blood.
I hope to enforce this even if we end up having to go to hospital.
I have a couple of questions though and would love if anyone could answer them....
1) what position does the baby have to be in relation to the placenta? I've read that they should be kept level with the placenta so the blood is coming more into them and not returning as much to the placenta. I'm a bit confused as to whether this is necessary, as I'd like to cuddle and try to breastfeed, and know that the placenta might take up to an hour to deliver naturally. I would definitely like to minimise any jaundice if that is related to baby/placenta positioning, particularly as I don't want the midwives freaking out and taking us off to hospital unnecessarily.

2) How long does a baby take to breathe naturally without the forced breathing of the cord being cut? I'm aware it may not be within seconds of being born, but I don't know how long is the normal/healthy amount of time to wait.

Any help would be most appreciated

 

[madasa]

Midwife Thinking is an excellent resource for this topic, I think!

 

[paperz]

I gave birth at home (in the Netherlands) in May and had a delayed cord clamping. At the time I had no idea there was any other way to do it as everything I'd read and been given to read about it stated that the cord is cut AFTER it stops pulsing, so I thought this was the only way to do it! I gave birth on a birthing stool, my daughter was handed to me right away, she was breathing on her own right from the start and it was very obvious as she was coughing and sputtering our some fluids. I carried her to the bed with the umbilical cord still intact and she laid on my chest and had her first feed while we waited for the cord to stop pulsing. Six minutes later it was done and my hubby cut the cord. I also agree with the above poster - Midwife Thinking is a really awesome blog with great info on cord clamping and other birth-related stuff!

 

[wigglywoo]

Thanks for the link madasa, really informative read.

Having read all of the link and watched the videos, I am even more concerned that my MW yesterday warned me that if baby needed resus and had a short cord, they'd have to clamp and cut. I am going to have to insist again that if it happens, the cord is NOT cut and that baby gets all its blood and continues to get oxygen from the placenta until breathing has been established.