Has anyone had a water birth and cord blood collected?

[Erised]

I know most of you here probably don't agree with the idea of collection cord blood, but we'd like to store the stem cell blood.

With my first I ended up having a hospital birth and being stuck to the bed, so the collecting wasn't a problem. This time around I'm hoping for a home birth, possibly a water birth if I feel comfortable with it at the time. It suddenly dawned on me yesterday that I'm not sure if you can have cord blood collected while in the pool? Does anyone have the answer for me?

 

[Mervs Mum]

I think you would be able to. You might need to stand up and hold baby but I think it's doable. You also can collect blood from the placenta after its born. This way your baby can get its full quota of blood and you still get the blood you want to bank. I'm not sure exactly how much they take but I do know there is sufficient for Rhesus neg mums needs. x


Eta I don't know if you've seen the pics of cords as they transfer but you can see when they are very 'full' and when the transfer is almost complete. Babies with just 3 mins of pulsation have improved iron levels etc so you can still delay and bank.

 

[Erised]

Thanks Lisa =)

I have to ask Karla about it still, not sure if she's ever taken cord blood or is comfortable doing it. Will ask the company we used with Moo if they mind cord + placenta blood as it would be nice to have a few extra minutes and have things less rushed.

I have seen the photos of the cords, there really is a big difference in a short amount of time.

 

[Mervs Mum]

It's the same blood in the placenta ie the transferring blood and I know inde mws are happy to take it from the placenta so someone in the 121 practice will be familiar with the process

 

[Erised]

Yay! =D
I'll bring it up to Karla anyway, it might make a difference in who she will have to bring around. Plenty of time to plan still, just happy to know I should still be able to have a water birth if I feel like it at the time. Had horrible images last night of having to lay down flat to deliver just because of the collection, in which case I probably would have told Peter that it isn't happening this time around.

 

[Mervs Mum]

I think it's quiet popular in the US so home birth mws there probably facilitate it all the time

 

[Angelinheaven]

I think you would be able to. You might need to stand up and hold baby but I think it's doable. You also can collect blood from the placenta after its born. This way your baby can get its full quota of blood and you still get the blood you want to bank. I'm not sure exactly how much they take but I do know there is sufficient for Rhesus neg mums needs. x


Eta I don't know if you've seen the pics of cords as they transfer but you can see when they are very 'full' and when the transfer is almost complete. Babies with just 3 mins of pulsation have improved iron levels etc so you can still delay and bank.

I am still thinking about whether to collect the cord or not. have you ever hear about success stories from the collection of the cord?

 

[tellybeans]

Hi! Did you have your baby yet? I have the same question as we are planning a home birth and the midwife will do the collection. I want to at least labor in the pool and then if I decide to push in it so be it. I know our company prefers to collect the blood while placenta is still attached. I just sent an email to ask why and will get back to you.

As for collecting the cord itself (cord tissue as opposed to the blood) this is for a different type of stem cells which differentiate into different tissues such as cartilage, nerves, skin etc. Whereas blood stem cells will differentiate only into different types of blood cells. I'm not sure of the research but I think there are some tissue clinical trials going on and they look promising. If they work, these cells actually have even MORE potential applications than the cord blood, but more for functional and cosmetic reasons (think knee cartilage repair, skin grafts for burns etc) but maybe one day could even promote neurological repair such as to fix paralysis.