The Presidential Election (Federal Elections) and Local Elections should protect babies and mothers, too.
Mass Medically Caused Child Abuse at birth, and Fleecing the Youth of the Nations, what is that? by Donna Young, mother and grandmother,
Natural Birth Education. (Revised July 22, 2004 5:00 pm).
Please read a
Message from Janice
, a mother of a HIE child, that is Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy. Hypoxemia
is a low or deficient oxygen
level in the blood. A common cause is the collapse of the alveoli in the lungs, this creates arterial
hypoxemia . . . in surgical patients (Scientific
American).(1) In children at birth, it can be caused by early umbilical cord clamping and the
child not revived with another source of oxygenated blood,
quickly.
-
Hypoxia is lack of oxygen, especially resulting from an inability of
body tissue to absorb oxygen under decreasing pressure In birth, the trend of
early umbilical cord clamping or a compressed cord are factors. This may also be a condition pilots
may suffer at high altitudes.(2)
-
Ischemia is anemia caused by the supply of arterial blood being cut off
or obstructed.(3) Ischemia can mean an anemic condition for deprived
blood during the birth of the baby, by early cord clamping. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
of Canada, as well as the experts in the
U.S.A. approved early and immediate cord clamping. This knowingly, and with visual evidence stops
20 to 50 percent, even up to 60 percent total
blood volume going into a baby's expanding lungs. This causes an unnecessary interruption of the
continued flow of blood from the placenta into the
baby's expanding lungs. As to my research, the trend of early clamping was stated to weaken the child,
known since 1801, and it is visual. The
trend of early cord clamping seems to go with the times, such as Wars or science research.
-
Encephalopathy is any disease of the brain. Encephalopathy
is commonest in children in children between 15 and 30 months of age (Scientific
American).(4)
One of the believed causes or major cause of HIE is interruption of the infant's circulation system
by early umbilical cord clamping and the trend to teach
the medical persons to do that came from the experts, The College of Obstetricians and Gyncologists
of America (ACOG), by their Bulletin #216,
November 1995. They also have a ACOG Practice Bulletin 138 (B138), and comments by a retired obstetrician,
Dr. George M. Morley, is below, who
states:
"ACOG's routine treatment (B138) of these depressed neonates is
immediate cord clamping to obtain cord blood pH studies. The child's
only functioning source of oxygen--the placenta--is amputated
together with 30 percent to 50 percent or more of its natural blood
volume. Total asphyxia is imposed until the lungs function, and the
depressed (asphyxiated, hypovolemic) child starts its extra-uterine
life in hypovolemic shock."
See:
www.cordclamping.com/Lancet2003analysis.htm
The nurses who have done studies on the timing of the clamping of the child's umbilical cord
record that up to 60 percent of blood is allowed
the child if early clamping is not done, to quote:
Manual of Nursing Practice
, 3rd Edition, The publisher,
J. B. Lippincott
Company, Philadelphia & Toronto.1978-1982,
stated empirical facts of science, observable if the placenta is drained after immediate cord clamping,
that in the circulation
changes of the fetus circulation to adult, these facts, to quote . . .
"Placental transfusion at birth
--increase in blood volume of 60% if cord is clamped and cut "after" pulsation
ceases."
To quote a legal opinion, using medical references, that merely 20 percent blood volume deprivation
may cause the
child to go into shock, is as follows:
LEGAL CASE-LAW REFERENCES:
R.D. Miller, ed., Anesthesia, 2nd ed. (New York: Churchill Livingstone,
1986
). "
early cord clamping could
result in a depressed neonate.
(Reference used in Reasons for Judgement, compromised child immediate cord
clamped, "Chow-case-law, Ontario, Canada, Sommers and Roth law firm.
D. Nathan and F. Oski,
eds., Hematology of Infancy and Childhood, 3rd ed. (Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co., 1987),
Dr. Oski states
at page 30:
" In general an acute
loss of 20 percent of the blood volume is sufficient to produce signs of shock
and
will be reflected in a fall in hemoglobin levels within three hours of the event. " (Reference
to: "Chow-case-law, Ontario, Canada, Sommers and Roth law firm.
DIAGRAMS provided in the Table of Contents,
www.lotusbirth.com
for:
Fetus Circulation to Neonate
www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-435.htm
Fetus Development
www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-99.htm
Heart Diagram, valves:
www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Loutsbirth-110.htm
Placenta Photo:
www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-609.htm
_________________________
Legal Case Law on MEDICAL CHILD BATTERY - CHILD ABUSE:
-
Ruling Case-Law,
Ireland
. Battery. Right to Refuse PKU Test. BMJ 2001;323:1149 (17 November) web site:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abridged/323/7322/1149
-
Ruling Case-Law, Medical Battery
California,
[ Daniel Thor v. The Superior Court of Solano County 93
C.D.O.S. 5658 at 5659]According to the California Supreme Court's 1993 THOR decision...Without "informed"
consent, ANY medical treatment is a battery."The common law has long recognized this principle:
A physician who
performs any medical procedure without the patient's consent commits a battery irrespective of the
skill or care
used."
Battery of a child is child abuse; battery of a lot of children is mass child abuse." Sent in by
Todd Gastaldo
Interruption of the Child's Circulation system when better options could have been
done, other then the clamping
cord tore or for placenta previa, resulted in Civil Awards, in millions of dollars, over $22 million
for the Chow and Ing-case laws, Ontario, Canada:
-
Ruling Case-Law (
Chow
) O.J. No. 279 DRS 99-03087 Court File No. 92-CQ-017535, Ontario Court of Justice
(General Division) web site:
http://www.sommersandroth.com/case-law-chow.htm
-
Ruling Case-Law (
ING
) web site:
http://www.sommersandroth.com/case-law-ing.htm
Biology Reference books of the 1980's, that revealed placenta practically used for hormones, nutrients,
extracted from them.
Reproduction, The
Cycle of Life, by Karen Jensen and the Editors of U.S. News Books, page 98. ISBN
0-89193-606-8, ISBN 0-89193-666-1 (school ed.)
". . .Once the head and
shoulders have emerged the rest of the birth proceeds rapidly. The baby's body is finally free
of
its nine- month-long
home. The pearly blue umbilical cord still links child to womb, sending him blood from the
placenta. The doctor will wait
until the cord
has stopped pulsating
before clamping it above the baby's abdomen
and severing it
."
P 98, "
After the placenta is delivered, the doctor will examine it to make sure it is intact. It
is then discarded or sold to
companies for use in research or beauty products.
"
Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, Tenth Edition, 2003, Gerard J. Tortora, Bergen Community college and Sandra
Reynolds Grabowski, Purdue University, publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. WIE ISBN 0=471-22472-3,
on page 1076, states, too
the use of the placenta for drug research and use, to quote:
"
Pharmaceutical companies use human placentas as a source of hormone, drugs, and blood:
portions of placentas
are also used for burn coverage. The placental
and umbilical cord veins can also be used in blood vessel grafts, and cord
blood can be frozen to provide a future source of pluripotent
stem cells, for example, to repopulate red bone marrow following
radiotherapy for cancer."
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALLOWED THE INFANTS TO BE EXPLOITED FOR STEM CELL RESEACH PROJECTS:
Who approved the use of placenta and placenta blood and the cord for research.
In Canada, for Federal Grant applications for
reseach it was allowed by the Federal Government, by their Federally paid agents, the Tri-Council Policy
Statement as set below,
in August 1998:
Tri-Council Policy Statement, Ethical Conduct for Research
Involving Humans, August 1998, Medical Research Council of
Canada; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada ; Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council
of Canada. MRC Website:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/hiv_aids/international/english/activity46.html
; NSERC website:
http://www.nserc.ca
; SSHRC website:
http://www.sshrc.ca
Research Involving Humans:
http://www.nserc.ca/programs/ethics/english/policy.htm
To quote the Tri-Council Policy Statement:
C. Previously Collected Tissue, Article 10.3,
page 10.4
(a) When identification is possible, researchers shall
seek to obtain free and informed consent from individuals, or
from their authorized third
parties, for the use of their previously collected tissue. the provisions of article 10.2
also apply here.
(b) When collected tissue ha been provided by persons who are not individually identifiable (anonymous
and
anonymized tissue),
and when there are no potential harms to them, there is no need to seek donor's
permission to use their tissue for research
purposes, unless applicable law so requires."
Apparently, those involved may not have had a legal adviser informed of common law rights (civil and
criminal) if early clamping
of the cord for unethical reasons to take opportunity to harvest the child for hormones, enzymes of
the blood and stem cells, and
interferon, to name a few of the value of the human blood, and the medical procedure did not allow for
equal security to the child,
that not one drop of blood can be deprived the child when the pulsating cord is a benefit to the child,
transferring blood into the
expanding lungs.
Many bogus medical clinical randomized trials have been done for questionable excuses that may
have been used to exploit the
child, but ONLY if the cord tore or for placenta previa was there a visually known reason to clamp the
cord. In such circumstances,
as the Chow-case-law, immediate remedy would have been required to give the child back, quickly, oxygenated
blood to the
child. That which would be given to keep the blood vessels from collapsing would now be likely
inferior to his/her own blood
supply. The child would have endangering, too, of slow and /or fast viruses entering his blood system
the blood coming from
another source of blood
"MEDICATIONS USED IN LABOR:
All drugs and gases are endangering to the mother and the child. These are the efforts of a Senior
lady, by
DORIS HAIRE,
President, American
Foundation for Maternal and Child Health, New York Presented to the
Birth Without Borders Conference,Sponsored by UNICEF in Chiang Mai, Thailand,
March 1, 1997
www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-499.htm
A Petition to Protect Babies and Mothers, Too
, can be found at: Petition:
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/102580814
While ACOG cancelled Policy #216 November 1995, that particular policy directing
immediate cord clamping on "all" babies, without going public, in
January 2002, many doctors and midwives continue to endanger the child to low blood
volume and pressure by early umbilical cord clamping. Many
professional persons actually believe that since you cannot see the internal damages being done, they
are not hurting the child. And if they find an
excuse or make one up of a belief someone was in danger, the mother or the child to clamp off the circulation
system, they believe no criminal
investigation will be done if they follow an alleged protocol.
As a consequence of bogus teaching and practice of active management and early
clamping and blood sampling, one in sixteen babies, in Canada,
are reported as having to be be revived. The long term effects are not always noted until the child
is an adult, like even holes in the heart, there since
birth, the heart shrinking, are discovered at age 30. And, many children are not followed up as
a study of long-term effects, but only checked up to about
two years of age. This is way before cognitive learning skills can be compared to children not so violated
by interruption of their circulation system. Many
children have learning problems identified only at ages 9 and 10. It can be very selective whose
children are early clamped and those who are not
clamped. It can be by blood types, known by the medical person in charge. It may be the survival
of the fittest philosophy of the gender, the color or the
race. Only those most informed who can protect their child from hasty time efficiency procedures, cutting
down the third stage of labor, and this is all
taught by the experts, and it is called "active management."
Many professionals blame the woman for asking and demanding drugs during
labor, which directs as a result after the use of Oxytocin,
Pitocin, early umbilical cord clamping. The use of the drug, oxytocin, commonly used in most births,
on a pretense it stops bleeding that all women will
bleed to death if not injected when the child's head is being born, becomes a directive by The World
Health Organization, to then clamp the cord
immediately. Most women have no informed choice to have safer options of warm water births and
no drugs, or information how the drugs damage
themselves and their babies.
Morphine, for examples slows down labor, often for the convenience of the staff. Then oxytocin, often mixed with morphine (Demerol), is used to
speed up the labor. Using them both, often combined, is told to the women to be painless fast birth. Many women believe this but it is not true. The
harsher, longer, and faster labor contractions caused by the abortion drug, Oxytocin (Pitocin) is often
the caused of distressed babies, women have been
known to scream in pain asking for a c-section, and they get more pain. And the drugs and fast
contraction means the fetus often cannot get a full
oxygen supply from the mother, and is distressed and may be still born. The protocol of drugging
means the medical persons step aside of all
accountability, as to this active management care. The still born or distressed child is often
caused by the harsher contractions pulling away the
placenta prematurely. The child has been deprived oxygen and this distress child. the placenta
will be harvested for the excess of hormones of that
distress, stem cells and interferon, and the parents are none the wiser this went on, it is all concealed,
the placenta taken away, and the parents rights
to forensic testing interfered with, the placenta and contents quickly destroyed. The evidence of all
the medication drugs that could be tested in the
placenta is destroyed evidence. I call that obstruction of justice. What do you call
it?
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC), continue
to support and train the medical persons to do early clamping,
about 30-second clamping, knowingly that it interrupts or stops 20 to 50 percent total blood volume
going into the infant's expanding lungs. Policy #71,
December 1998, knowingly, knew children would take from 6 weeks to 6 months before a reasonable recreation
of their blood supply was almost normal;
and in May 2000, they directed immediate cord clamping to be done routinely, in Policy #89.
Harvesting of the Placenta Blood for raw materials:
Unknown to the public the placenta and placenta blood become the property by
ambiguous consent forms of appropriate discarding. This does not
necessary mean the discarding meant burning, but may mean the hospital's own lab uses the blood taken
from the placenta for reseach, transplantation,
and extracting of various hormones, that are suspended in the blood, particularly, after distress during
birth, such as interferon.
Interferon is valued more than gold as are stem cells, white cells, mature
red cells, plasma, and vitamins and minerals in the blood. Strong drugs
given to the mother during labor and during the birth of the child are at risk of crossing the placenta. Many young children have chronic digestive
disorders similar to sprue occurring chiefly in young children. Such victims of sprue cannot
even digest bread. This is characterized by an intolerance for
the wheat protein gluten, and causing diarrhea, swelling of the abdomen, and stunted growth. This is
called celiac disease (5).
Other disorders of lack of oxygenated blood to muscles is Cerebral Palsy,
a disabling condition caused by damage to the brain, usually before or at
birth. Persons suffering from cerebral palsy have trouble coordinating their muscles and tend
to make involuntary jerky movements. (6)
References:
1 (p 1042), 2 (p.1042), 3 (p1118) , 4 (p 694), 5 (p326) and 6 (p332) are from Vol. A-K, The World
Book Dictionary, Thorndike Barnhart, 1979.
This message following Janice's message, is by Donna Young, a Canadian Mother and Grandmother, tel: (250) 782-9223 This Url, for your reference is:
www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-687.htm Other comments follow:
Message from Janice
Hello
In our never ending battle to have healthy children, healthy eating
and happy babies, I have discovered some shocking information that
needs to be exposed. My daughter, suffered severe brain
damage at birth and I am constantly seeking answers as to what
happened. Please read below as I too had a planned homebirth that
went disastrously wrong. My daughter's umbilical cord was clamped way
too early, and now she is disabled for life. Thanks for reading,
Janice
July 11, 2004
THIS ARTICLE IS LONG, BUT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE EVER READ.
If you don't want to read all of this, and it is a lot, just read this first page...... To summarize,
babies umbilical cords are being clamped (cutting off
placental oxygenation) too soon causing brain damage. All the details are below. It talks about cerebral
palsy, HIE, learning disabilities, and all the
attempts to expose what is
being done and how this information is being ignored which is harming and killing our babies.
Disclaimer: This information is a result of 6 months of research. I have edited and compiled
this data to what I feel are the key points. I am NOT the
author of this information, but yet rather the messenger. This information is not my opinion, but rather
the efforts of much research and experience by
birth researchers and doctors. I
am, however, going to ask for a formal investigation into this matter by the Department of Health, the
United States Government, my local Senators and
House members, the media, the American Medical Association, the State of Ohio Medical Board, and everyone
else I can think of. If this information is
true, and I believe it is, then mass child abuse has occurred that has resulted in horrifying disabilities
for our babies and even death. Please read the
information that has taken me over 100 hours to put together, and even if you are still skeptical, at
least sign the two petitions that follow in the next
posts so we, as parents of very badly damaged babies and children, can DEMAND an investigation into
this matter. Only then can we get some answers.
Will this information make the big tobacco liars look small? We all need to get mad and seek JUSTICE
and COMPENSATION for our children.
Before you continue, I do not have time to make up any stories or put together something that is fiction.
I am busy with my 6 children, (My Daughter who
is my baby and disabled thanks to HIE), a grandchild due any day, and all the business daily life. I
am sharing this with you because I am shocked,
horrified, and just sick that this is what is happening. I hope you get as angry as me and sign the
petitions in the following posts demanding some
answers. We got an investigation into 9/11 and what went wrong. That was 3000 senseless deaths. How
many senseless deaths of our babies have there
been because of this?
How many thousands, maybe uncountable thousands have been disabled from slightly to severely? Our babies,
our precious children, their potential
stolen before they even had a chance to start their life. Gone. Never to be brought back to what it
once was. Okay, start reading.
From the author of many of the articles referenced below:
I AM WILLING TO TESTIFY AND OFFER PROOF that immediate cord clamping at birth causes attention deficit
disorders, learning disabilities,
behavioral disorders, mental retardation, respiratory distress syndrome, and intraventricular hemorrhage,
and cerebral palsy.
G. M. MORLEY, signature and date
(Dr.Morley is a retired OB/Gyn who has repeatedly tried to let other
doctors at ACOG -American College of OB/GYNS) know about the dangers
of a baby's umbilical cord being clamped too soon. )
August 29, 2001
WITNESSED:
MARTHA L. ROBERTS, NOTARY PUBLIC
LAELANAU COUNTY, MICHIGAN
(My commission Expires: August 11, 2003)
____________________________________
I have a copy, in my files, of this original, signed document, that
shows his signature, the postmark/date on the envelope, as well as
the notary signature.
To Announce To Every Obstetrician In Very Large Print:
1. That immediate cord clamping is no longer officially sanctioned as
standard care.
2. That the person who clamps the cord before the lungs are
oxygenating the child should have sound, documented, clinical
justification for doing so and
3. That the person who clamps the cord immediately or prematurely is
individually responsible and liable for the resulting injuries.
George Malcolm Morley, MB, Ch.B., FACOG
Dr. Morley graduated from Edinburgh University Medical School in
1957, completed a residency in OBGYN in 1962, and practiced
obstetrics and gynecology until his retirement in 1999. He is board
certified in OBGYN, and a Fellow of the American College of
Obstetrics and Gynecology.
"Another thing very injurious to the child, is the tying and cutting
of the navel string too soon; which should always be left till the
child has not only repeatedly breathed but till all pulsation in the
cord ceases. As otherwise the child is much weaker than it ought to
be, a portion of the blood being left in the placenta, which ought to
have been in the child."
Dr. Erasmus Darwin 1801. (He was the grandfather of Charles).
_________________________________________________________
If you want more information, please keep reading. Let's try and save
all the unborn children. It is too late for the babies already born,
but we can do something about the ones still healthy and alive. They
still have a chance.
To all yahoo group members:
WHAT IS GOING ON THAT WE CAN RECALL DEFECTIVE STROLLERS,
PLAYPENS, TOYS, ETC. WHEN THEY POSE A HAZARD, NO MATTER HOW SMALL, TO
OUR BABIES SAFETY, BUT WE WON'T RECALL A LETHAL AND DEADLY PRACTICE
SUCH AS IMMEDIATE CORD CLAMPING AS SOON AS A BABY IS BORN WHICH
KNOCKS OUT THE BABY'S LIFELINE OF OXYGEN ?? READ BELOW AS MY DAUGHTER
and your child too, IS NOW A STATISTIC, AND I DON"T WANT ANY MORE
BABIES TO JOIN THIS GROUP OF BRAIN DAMAGED AND CEREBRAL PALSY
CHILDREN
Examples that will pale in comparison:
QUICK, PULL THE TYLENOL BOTTLES - THEY ARE LACED!
OH NO PHEN! PHEN HURTS THE HEART - TAKE IT OUT OF THE PHARMACIES!
SUE MCDONALD'S BECAUSE THEIR FOOD IS MAKING US FAT!
DON'T STOCK THOSE TOYS ON YOUR SHELVES BECAUSE THEY ARE A CHOKING
HAZARD!
Sound familiar??? These were all headlines and some that got action
in a short matter of time, sometimes even days. When there is a
product that becomes known to be harmful to our health, it is
publicized, and handled. I demand the same!
BUT NO ONE WILL LISTEN WHEN I TELL THEM ABOUT OUR NEWBORN BABIES
BEING DEPRIVED OF OXYGEN, MAIMED PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY FOREVER BY A
ROUTINE PROCEDURE THAT SHOULD BE BANNED RIGHT NOW, TODAY. EVERY DAY
THAT GOES BY MORE BRAIN DAMAGED BABIES WILL BE PROCESSED THROUGH OUR
HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL FACILITIES. THIS NEEDS TO STOP!!!
www.cordclamping.com
www.lotusbirth.com
References of research at lotusbirth:
www.lotsubirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-110.htm
It should no longer be routine, protocol, or policy to clamp or cut
the umbilical cord of a newborn baby until the cord has stopped
pulsing. It is a very dangerous practice that most doctors and
medical practitioners caring for moms and newborns do routinely every
birth. ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
called for routine cord clamping of every newborn in bulletin number
138 and 216. Dr. George Morley, also the author of
Neonatal Encephalopathy, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, and
Subsequent Cerebral Palsy: Etiology, Pathology and Prevention
(some excerpts of the article are below, with the available reference
as well) , was the doctor responsible for having ACOG end the
practice of routine cord clamping because of the consequences of
brain damage, cerebral palsy, respiratory distress, etc, to name a
few. Routine or ICC (immediate cord clamping) was to be ended with
the February 2002 edition of Obstetrics & Gynecology, ACOG quietly
announced, in very small print on a back page (361), that Bulletin
216 has been withdrawn from circulation. FIRST, DO NO HARM.. One
other note, Dr. Morley is a retired OB/GYN who has 40 years worth of
experience delivering babies. For him to be able to write such
intense articles about HIE, brain damage, and cerebral palsy, how
many babies did he witness going through such horrors?
I have also attached an email of the signed/sworn testimony of Dr.
Morley where he states how dangerous it is to clamp the umbilical
cord of a baby, ESPECIALLY a child who is distressed at birth due to
a compressed cord or other fetal distress. I am also able to get a
copy of this statement emailed to you along with the
postmark/envelope that it arrived in. The letter went to Donna Young,
a woman who is trying to educate people on the dangers of premature
cord clamping. Also, the American Academy of Pediatricians has a cord
clamping warning on their website.
The first breath upon birth is what inflates the baby's lungs and
starts the physiological process of switching from fetal to newborn
circulation. It makes sense that if you cut off a baby's oxygen
supply before it has started to breathe on its own, that brain damage
can and does occur. Dr. Morley states that a child who is having
difficulties at birth needs to be left on the mother's placental
circulation system while also being attended to by medical
professionals. That way the baby is still getting oxygen via the
placenta/umbilical cord.
With all the research I have done on cord clamping, this is what I
have found to be the reasons it is done:
1) Routine, protocol, because of how the doctors are taught in
medical school. However, midwifes know to leave the pulsing cord
which is the baby's lifeline alone. I have heard from numerous
doctors that I have questioned that "it is just what we do". Does
that make it right?? Safe??
2) For obtaining cord blood Ph studies which coincides with medico-
legal reasons. In other words their butts are covered and no fault
can be found while a severely brain damaged baby goes home with no
fault to any of the medical staff.
More references at:
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/hastyclamping.html
3) Convenience of the doctor to "disconnect" the baby from it's
mother to do all of the routine newborn procedures such as cleaning,
eye drops, exam, etc. Why not leave the baby connected to mom for a
few more minutes? Especially if it means the difference between a
healthy baby and one that is not.
4) With the emergence of cord blood banks and stem cell research,
more doctors are being pressured into cutting the cord early for
potential profits and research. See below.
____________________________
Basics of the Cord Clamping / Brain Damage Issue
The following are established facts: (This list has been shortened
but the entire list can be found at: www.cordclamping.com - the main
page.
Birth asphyxia (lack of oxygen) causes newborn brain damage.
Before birth, the placenta supplies the brain with oxygen.
After birth, the lungs supply the brain with oxygen.
After pulmonary oxygenation is established, placental oxygenation
ceases - the cord vessels close; the brain's oxygen supply is not
interrupted.
The following are established facts regarding umbilical cord clamping
before pulmonary oxygenation is established:
Placental oxygenation is arrested and the brain is deprived of oxygen
until the lungs function.
Placental transfusion is arrested and the child is hypovolemic.
Blood flow through the lungs and other organs is not optimal and
pulmonary oxygenation is not optimal.
The child's life support systems are not optimal for survival or for
optimum health.
Depending on the degree of asphyxia and the length of time of
asphyxia produced by cord clamping, the child will have varying
degrees of brain damage that range from no damage through degrees of
neurological impairment to brain death. Natural (normal) cord closure
prevents birth asphyxia and prevents brain damage. Articles on this
website explain how modern obstetrical and neonatal care is causing
newborn brain damage and how that care can be corrected; they
provides references to support the explanation.
Neonatal encephalopathy, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, and
Subsequent Cerebral Palsy: Etiology, Pathology and Prevention.
Excerpts from HIE article (listed above) on www.cordclamping.com.
"The sequence of pathologies, NE / HIE / CP, occurs in newborns that
have been subjected during birth to cord compression (partial
occlusion of the umbilical vein) of sufficient degree to produce
hypovolemia in the fetus and engorgement of the placenta; the
sequence, NE / HIE / CP, is initiated by immediate clamping of the
umbilical cord at birth (ICC) that finalizes and intensifies the
hypovolemia in such a cord-compressed neonate. ICC (immediate cord
clamping) prevents placental transfusion that could correct the
neonatal hypovolemia. factor in producing brain damage. Hypovolemic
shock in the slightly/moderately asphyxiated human neonate is the
obvious and most plausible genesis for NE / HIE and CP.
As "there is no evidence that brain damage occurs before birth," the
sequence of NE / HIE / CP should be avoidable by resuscitating
neonates with the placental circulation intact. This allows full (and
immediate) placental transfusion from the engorged placenta and
corrects the primary pathology."
referenced at:
www.cordclamping.com/Lancet2003analysis.htm
Neonatal Resuscitation: Life that Failed
This is a great article and a must read to see how babies are
resuscitated without their full blood volume intact.
Referenced at:
www.obgyn.net/pb/pb.asp?page=/pb/articles/neonatal-resuscitation
A Refutation of ACOG's Report on Cerebral Palsy
The President of ACOG says the report is useful for educating
doctors, parents and jurors" and that "adverse outcome has almost
nothing to do with medical negligence or error." The report offers
doctors legal care; for patients, there is little hope, the causes of
brain damage are "unpreventable."
Referenced at:
http://www.cordclamping.com/acog-cp.htm
(Janice's notes) One interesting thought that I have in regards to
this article is that if ACOG knew to stop routine or ICC because it
was dangerous to the baby (Ph samples and
FIRST DO NO HARM
) then
shouldn't they know that this dangerous practice is what could be
potentially be causing some, if not many, of the cases of brain
damage and CP? I agree that perhaps "adverse outcome" has nothing to
do medical negligence in some of the cases, but perhaps it is the
cutting off of the baby's pressurized and oxygenated blood supply
that is the final nail in the coffin.
DECLARATION OF A MEDICAL DOCTOR TRAINED IN 40 YEARS OF DELIVERING BABIES:
Here is a copy of Dr. Morley's statement that was sent to my email but with unofficial use, at this
time:
| | | Inbox
G. M. Morley, MB ChB FACOG
P. O. Box 181
Northport, MI 49670
August 29, 2001
To Whom It May Concern:
Name: GEORGE MALCOLM MORLEY, MB ChB FACOG
Curriculum. Vitae. I graduated from Edinburgh University medical
School in 1957, completed a rotating membership in Michigan in 1958
and completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology in 1962 when I
began private practice. I became boar certified in obstetrics and
gynecology in 1966 and am currently a member of Michigan State
Medical Society and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics
and Gynecology. I retired from practice in 1999.
Publications: A full review article entitled Cord Closure: Can Hasty
Clamping Injure the Newborn? In OBG MANAGEMENT, July 1998. Two
letters published in OBG MANAGEMENT in February 1998 and May 1999.
Four letters published in OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY in August 2000,
January 2001, and in June 2001 (2).
The basic premises on which Ms Young's complaint is founded are:
1.That immediately after the birth of all children, the cord and
placenta continue to supply the child with oxygen and blood.
2.That after the lungs are supplying the child with oxygen and after
the child has received enough blood from the placenta for optimal
survival, the cord vessels close naturally.
3.That interruption of the placental supply of oxygen and blood by
means of a cord clamp before the lungs are functioning and before the
child has attained an optimal blood volume may cause permanent injury
to the child.
My publications and all other publications in my possession support
the truth of the above premises.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG Educational
Bulletin 216, Nov. 1995) and the Society of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC Policy Statement No. 89, May 2000)
advise immediate clamping of the cord at birth. Because of this
advise and current early cord clamping habits fostered by the
profession, few newborns today have optimal oxygenation or optimal
blood volumes; many are needlessly injured by premature cord clamping.
I AM WILLING TO TESTIFY AND OFFER PROOF that immediate cord clamping
at birth causes attention deficit disorders, learning disabilities,
behavioral disorders, mental retardation, respiratory distress
syndrome, and intraventricular hemorrhage, and cerebral palsy.
G. M. MORLEY, signature and date: August 29, 2001
WITNESSED:
MARTHA L. ROBERTS, NOTARY PUBLIC
LAELANAU COUNTY, MICHIGAN
(My commission Expires: August 11, 2003)
____________________________
Research of Donna Young, President of Natural Birth Education, Box
504, Dawson Creek, BC, V1G 4H4 Canada (tel: 1-250-782-9223)
References of false information in school biology textbooks and
Nurse's Manuals that state 60 percent more blood goes into the baby's
body if not early cord clamped, legal references of children
suffering of serious damage by interruption of their circulation
system, Chow-case-law, Sommers and Roth, Ontario, Canada, also Ing-
case-law.
www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-110.htm
OTHER SOURCES OF KNOWN HARM TO INFANTS WAS PUBLISHED IN 1997 BY DORIS
HAIRE,
ARTICLE ON BIRTH WITHOUT BORDERS ON THE HARMS OF MEDICATION AND OTHER
CONCERNS, article by Doris Haire, in attempt to protect babies in "other" Nations,
Birth Without Borders, conference, 1997.
www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-499.htm
(Janice's notes) Diagrams of the fetus circulation vs the
neonate/adult circulation, heart diagrams are available at Table of
Contents at www.lotusbirth.com. These show exactly what is happening
when a baby is born and the circulation is switching and what heart
valves, etc, are involved. Fascinating.
ACOG's bulletins on cord clamping:
Bulletin number 138:
ACOG Practice Bulletin 138 (B138) states:
ACOG's routine treatment (B138) of these depressed neonates is
immediate cord clamping to obtain cord blood pH studies. The child's
only functioning source of oxygen--the placenta--is amputated
together with 30 percent to 50 percent or more of its natural blood
volume. Total asphyxia is imposed until the lungs function, and the
depressed (asphyxiated, hypovolemic) child starts its extra-uterine
life in hypovolemic shock.
Immediate ventilation may not reverse the asphyxia if there is not
enough blood volume to perfuse the pulmonary blood vessels
adequately; thus the immediately clamped neonate is very prone to
hypoxia and ischemia--and to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).
This is what my daughter's diagnosis was at birth. I was handed a
paper on HIE before I had even had the chance to tell her hello and
that I loved her and was so happy she came back. Now I know there are
worse things than a child dying - severe neurological brain damage
and all of the resulting horrors.
By relieving the cord compression, (unwinding the cord from around
the neck, loosening the true knot) placental circulation reverses the
asphyxia and placental transfusion rapidly reverses the hypovolemia.
Pulmonary resuscitation with the placental circulation intact will
usually result in a pink, crying newborn (with an intact brain)
within five minutes. Transfusion of oxygenated placental blood that
increases blood volume by less than 50 percent prevents hypoxic,
ischemic injury.
The brain of the immediately clamped, depressed newborn is very
probably uninjured at birth. Deterioration into encephalopathy is
certainly multi-factorial. Deficient brain perfusion (ischemia) due
to hypovolemia, low cardiac output and low blood pressure is the
central factor. Hypoxia and acidemia due to poor lung perfusion are
additional factors as is renal shut-down.
Referenced at:
http://www.mercola.com/2003/mar/8/umbilical_cord.htm
For the past seven years, thousands of obstetricians have been taught
that immediate cord clamping is an acceptable, standard obstetrical
procedure, and millions of newborns have been subjected to it.
Without any attempt at warning the profession, ACOG has quietly
relieved its officials from further responsibility for an injurious
procedure that is widely and naively performed by many practicing
obstetricians. It would be ethically and morally appropriate for ACOG
To Announce To Every Obstetrician In Very Large Print:
1. That immediate cord clamping is no longer officially sanctioned as
standard care.
2. That the person who clamps the cord before the lungs are
oxygenating the child should have sound, documented, clinical
justification for doing so and
3. That the person who clamps the cord immediately or prematurely is
individually responsible and liable for the resulting injuries.
George Malcolm Morley, MB, Ch.B., FACOG
Dr. Morley graduated from Edinburgh University Medical School in
1957, completed a residency in OBGYN in 1962, and practiced
obstetrics and gynecology until his retirement in 1999. He is board
certified in OBGYN, and a Fellow of the American College of
Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Criticism, comment and refutation on this article is encouraged and
may be sent to:
G. M. Morley
P.O. Box 181
Northport, MI 49670
Email:
obgmmorley@aol.com
referenced at:
obgmmorley@aol.com
More references:
http://cordclamping.com/ErasmusDarwin.htm
______________________________________________________________________
Don't clamp cords - Your Letters Mothering, May-June, 2003 by George Malcolm Morley
For expectant parents, the recent report on cerebral palsy (CP) and
newborn brain damage (NE) from the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists (ACOG), Neonatal Encephalopathy and Cerebra/ Palsy:
Defining the Pathogenesis and Pathophysiology, is very depressing. It
concludes that cerebral palsy is inevitable and "unpreventable, not
caused by labor and delivery events." Fortunately, ACOG's own data
indicate just the opposite--that correct birth management can often
prevent brain injury.
In a related survey, ACOG reports that most obstetricians "don't
know" much about the causes of CP and NE, and the chairman of the
task force admits that he has not defined "the true genesis" of these
injuries. (1)
ACOG's Bulletin 138 states: "Immediately after delivery of the
neonate, a segment of umbilical cord should be doubly clamped,
divided, and placed on the delivery table pending assignment of the 5-
minute Apgar score." This immediate cord-clamping (ICC) procedure is
used on nearly every "at risk" newborn to obtain a cord blood sample
for medico-legal proof of the child's asphyxia status at birth.
At a normal birth (without a cord clamp), the cord pulsates and
supplies the brain with blood and oxygen until the child is breathing
and pink.
However, ICC cuts off the child's oxygen supply from the
placenta and leaves a large portion of the child's natural blood
volume in the placenta
. The very depressed/asphyxiated child treated
in this way may not have enough blood or oxygen to keep the brain
undamaged until the lungs begin to function.
Over the past year, ACOG published two studies on 284 brain-damaged
newborns. (2,3) All babies had ICC at birth, as all had cord blood
studies,
but ACOG does not make any connection between the loss of
placental oxygenated blood in every child and the brain damage that
developed in every child
. For ACOG, immediate amputation of a living,
functioning placenta is a harmless part of a normal delivery.
But it
is not harmless.
In the 1960s and 1970s, birth brain-damage studies were done on
newborn monkeys, and
ICC was used routinely to produce birth asphyxia
and brain damage
. Today, ICC is used routinely to provide lab reports
for medico-legal evidence. In the monkey studies, when depriving the
mother of oxygen produced fetal asphyxia
and the baby's cord was not
clamped during resuscitation, no brain damage occurred. (4)
Contrary to ACOG's report, most cerebral palsy can be prevented by
resuscitating the depressed/asphyxiated newborn with the placental
circulation intact--in other words,
don't clamp the cord!
The living
placenta will supply oxygen and blood and protect the child's brain
until the lungs take over. For full medical references, see
www.cordclamping.com
.
(1.) G. D. V. Hankins, "Neonatal Encephalopathy and Cerebral Palsy: A
Knowledge Survey of Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists," Obstetrics & Gynecology 101, no. 1 (January
2003): 11-17.(2.) G. D. V Hankins, et al., "Neonatal Organ System
Injury in Acute Birth Asphyxia Sufficient to Result in Neonatal
Encephalopathy," Obstetrics & Gynecology 99, no. 5 (May 2002): 688-
691.
(3.) K. Williams and A. Singh, "The Correlation of Seizures in
Newborn Infants with Significant Acidosis at Birth with Umbilical
Artery Cords Values," Obstetrics & Gynecology 100, no. 3 (September
2002): 557-560.(4.) R. E. Myers, "Two Patterns of Perinatal Brain
Damage and their Conditions of Occurrence," American Journal of
Obstetrics and Gynecology 112 (1972): COPYRIGHT 2003 Mothering
Stem cell research/Cord blood banks
American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement on Cord Blood Banking
(excerpt)
The importance of larger numbers of stem cells to the success of
engraftment could encourage the attendance at delivery by a physician
or other health care personnel to attempt to harvest more cord blood.
It has been shown that the timing of umbilical cord clamping has an
important effect on the neonatal blood volume and the subsequent
hematologic status. If cord clamping is done too soon after birth,
the infant may be deprived of a placental blood transfusion,
resulting in lower blood volume and increased risk for anemia in
later life. Immediate cord clamping will, of course, increase the
volume of placental blood for harvesting for cord blood banking.
There may be a temptation to practice immediate cord clamping
aggressively to increase the volume of cord blood that can be
harvested for cord blood banking. This practice is unethical and
should be discouraged.
Pediatrics, Volume 104, Number 1, July 1999, pp 116-118.
For complete policy statement, see
http://www.aap.org/policy/re9860.html
(Janice's notes) With ICC, as much as 40 percent * of the baby's blood
volume can be left inside the placenta. That blood is also a rich
source of stem cells which are now possibly being sold (illegal
without informed consent by the parents per the American Red Cross)
and provided to the cord blood banks opening for business. Some links
providing this information are provided below.
umbilical cord blood is a plentiful and rich source of stem cells -
the building blocks of the immune system- that can be used to treat a
variety of life-threatening diseases including leukemia, other
cancers, and blood and immune disorders
Referenced at:
http://www.cordblooddonor.org/
__________________
Note: By Donna Young,
A Nurses' Manual
by a reliable well known medical publisher, indicates if the cord is not clamped, up to 60 percent
more blood
volume is allowed to be transfused into the baby's expanding lungs. The infant's lungs need the
same volume of blood as the placenta did in its
exchange of gases, oxygen and carbon dioxide. Lungs take a considerable amount of blood to nourish
all cells. The placenta, acts as though a
pressure foot, it maintains the volume and pressure to be constant while the child's heart draws the
blood from the placenta into the baby's expanding
lungs.
If you cut the placenta's cord, the flow, pressure and volume of blood with oxygen, ceases. If this
placenta with blood in it were a water pump, and the
intake hose with the foot valve was cut off, the pump would sputter and cease to operate. This happens
exactly to those babies that do not get sufficient
oxygen and/or volume and pressure of their blood. The heart will shrink for the lack of volume and constant
pressure of blood. The brain will give up its
blood (no valves to keep it there). All cells will give up their blood to the lung's needs. Fermentation
of the cells may then begin. The babies will gasp,
take one breath, and may have a heart attack, or a stroke, and may go limp. If not revived, quickly,
the child may die. If revived, the child may suffer the
consequences of circulation system interruption the rest of his/her life. Why risk it?
It is just common sense not to interrupt the circulation system of any animal or human baby.
ONLY if the cord tore or for placenta previa ought the
cord be clamped. Then immediate and quick revival is important, to minimize the internal injury to the
child. With a tied, clamped, or hand-squeezed cord
on a pulsating functioning organ, the child is subjected to the roll of the dice where the injuries
may be revealed. The internal injuries may be latent in
discovery, taking years, even up to 30 years for a hole in the heart to be known. In other situations,
the injuries are immediately known in complications
of reviving a child. See the Chow-case-law, Ontario Canada, and the Ing-case-law, handled
by Roth and Sommers.
These two Asian citizens, were to be protected by enforcement of the criminal laws for unnecessary medical
procedures or protocols not reported as
endangering to any one child ICC is imposed on. Both children had serious impairments when their
circulation was cut off. The Chow child was injured
for a cut cord for a cord around the neck. The better choice of care is a sponge or a finger between
the cord and the neck to prevent neck injury. The
neonate yet breathes through the cord, the placenta yet attached inside the mother's womb, supplying
oxygen and blood flow to the child. The cords are
tough, not easily severed.
And, the Ing child was injured for the use of mid-forceps. In this case, a c-section may have
been the better choice of an episiotomy and the use of tools
to grasp the child, and pull him out of the womb. Had either of these children's lifelines not
been subjected to interruption of the circulation of oxygenated
blood, these babies would have had normal lives.
The medical persons, including 9-1-1ambulance medics (Janice's daughter's situation), are following
of policies of questionable protocol and without
questioning the results of visual facts, a heavy blood filled placenta. Such ritual following
must be examined. And, when they are not, when explained to
a reasonable person and found not logical, medical protocols have continued to be allowed to threaten
the well-being of any child the early clamping is
done to. Doctors do this without disclosure or a bogus reason for their intent to clamp the pulsating
cord. The reasons are mentioned on other articles,
used to escape criminal prosecution. But only two reasons justify a cord clamped and quickly remedied
- the cord tore or placenta previa. These are rare
happenings, in deed.
Who allowed the trend of early clamping of the pulsating umbilical cord? In British Columbia, it was
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and this
was true in other Provinces as well, and this included some of the Colleges of Midwives, too.
In Markham. Ontario, the midwives were using the "fear" of
the mother may bleed to clamp the pulsating cord. There was "no" fact of evidence the
mother was bleeding, or was anemic, to cause this fear and she
is believed not injected with Oxytocin, that does direct early clamping according to the World Health
Organization (W.H.O.), that Oxytocin injures the
baby's brain.
W.H.O. directed, then the risk of low blood volume and pressure, by mandating early clamping of the
umbilical cord to stop transfer, immediately, of
oxytocin toxic poisoning to the child's brain cells, or so allege this may happen. Oxytocin goes
by other names: Pitocin, Syntocinon, and Toesen. The
latter reveals the seriousness of this drugs side effects and that the preservative, Chlorobutanol,
causes the heart not to contract correctly, and causes
thyroid problems, as well. The mothers are not told this when doctors, for believing an injection
of man-made oxytocin, stops bleeding, but the mother
are not told the risks or given the right to decline injections of any drugs, during or after the child's
birth.
And the Professional Nurses Association have used protocols for training. These have been
established by the Cochrane Collaboration Group,
stating active management, which involves early umbilical cord clamping, is first choice in child birth
care. There was silence of not able to stop this
protocol from the Canadian Medical Association, as well, and by the Society of Obstetricians
and Gyncologists of Canada (SOGC), who created the
early and immediate cord clamping policies and expected them followed by all medical persons. Who all
follows these policies, and blindly?
Risk to the Public if you call 9-1-1 for instructions on an emergency birth, at this date: The
9-1-1 counsellors have also been found to
give directives to
lay persons to tie off the pulsating cord, and to use any piece of string to do so. They are not
mentioning the risk of death of Puerperal Fever that can
be caused to the mother and the child by the use of unsterilized string, clamp, or knife, or unwashed
hands. Puerperal Fever, killed 12 out of every 100
births or women, prior to 1865, for these reasons. The 9-1-1 counsellors are not saying anything
used to tie the cord should be
boiled first and the
scissors or knife, too, and the wise use of iodine
.
Others observing in the practice of early clamping for questionable motives, a cord sample of blood
for a pH test, are from doulas, to the father's of the
child, uneducated, and up to the surgeons participating in a c-section birth. Not even c-section birthed
babies have to be severed from the cord, or
clamped, ever. They, too, can have primal birth traditions and the baby removed, intact, with
their placenta and the cord not tied or clamped. This is true
for "all" babies, including premature babies, who do much better with all their stem cells,
and hormones and enzymes, if not early clamped, and few then
have lung problems. (See T. Peltonen's research)
In the case of the Chow boy, this child's placenta blood went totally missing. This was
after the doctor was busy with the mother and the child's
afterbirth, the placenta, for seven minutes. In that time period, the child, was limp and gasping. He was being constantly given 100 percent oxygen. But
his anemic condition, caused by insufficient volume of blood, would not allow continued independent
breathing by only oxygen administration. The
Ringer's Lactate, given, was not sufficient for blood volume and pressure for the anemic child. The
child needed additional blood. Only, when the Chow
child got this additional blood, about 45 minutes later, could the child breathe, continuously, on his
own. He was caused brain damage, and he is blind,
deaf (mute) and paralyzed. That was the similar fate for the Ing child, too, whose circulation
system was interrupted by mid-forceps.
In the Chow-case award for Damages, references were given that even 20 percent blood deprivation
is sufficient to cause shock. Shock is caused
by blood loss. This produces the anemic condition of most children and is a common problem of
the youth today. Children can be known to be anemic
from 6 weeks to 6 months and more, as stated in Policy #71, December 1998 of the Society of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists of Canada
(SOGC). SOGC's reason for allowing early clamping (about 30-second clamping considered the
"new delayed clamping" was for cutting down the time of
the third stage of labor, when the placenta is expelled. For directing immediate cord clamping in
Policy #89 May 2000, they used the alibi to get a pH
test from the umbilical cord, and required it severed.
It would appear that this time efficiency risks a lifetime of problems for the victimized child, all
for 20 minutes. The cost to society is the loss of the
potential genius ability of the children so violated, children caused to be just average, or
below average, or totally compromised. I say, not one drop of
blood should be taken from the child, during or after birth. This cost of a child's care, for
their lifetime, is $8 million dollars for every child made so
autistic.
Many autistic children, HIE, or CP children will never lead independent lives. These impaired
children have the fates that many will have to be
institutionalized by the time they are age 13. The autistic children get too big to manage and may become
violent. The brain impaired child will be
medicated the rest of their lives, in institutions.
___________________________
Janice's article continued. . .
" If a baby's cord blood is so much desired for stem
cells and research, does it not make sense to let the baby have it
first?
Umbilical Cord Blood Collection
Collecting cord blood poses no health risk to the mother or infant
donor. The cord blood is collected after delivery and would normally
be discarded. The cord blood is stored only with the mother's signed
consent, and no collection is made if there are any complications
during delivery.
After the baby's birth, the umbilical cord is clamped, breaking the
link between the baby and the placenta. Trained staff drain the blood
from the umbilical cord and placenta. Methods vary somewhat at
different hospitals. The blood is usually collected using a needle to
draw the blood into a blood bag. The collection usually takes ten
minutes or less.
Amount Collected
On average, about three to five fluid ounces are collected from the
umbilical cord. If the amount is too small, there will not be enough
stem cells to be used for transplantation and the cord blood unit
(CBU) will not be stored. CBUs that do not meet the criteria for
transplant may be used by researchers in the search for new and more
effective medical uses for cord blood stem cells.
Referenced at:
http://www.marrow.org/MEDICAL/cord_blood_donation_basic.html
(Janice's notes) If an average 9 pound baby has 10 ounces of blood,
and they "lose" almost half of their blood volume, it is no wonder
they sustain brain damage. We surely can't lose that much blood
volume and survive.
There are many more articles available on cord blood and stem cell
research. It is a money making business and if doctors and parents
believe that ICC will not endanger their child, this practice will
also continue, potentially harming thousands, if not millions of
babies. I am wondering if cord blood is being taken without
permission or informed consent. If so, what can be done about it?
Janice
To reach Janice, contact Donna at:
dyoung@pris.ca
________________________________
This is a letter that Dr. Morley, via email told me would be good to
take to the courts to a judge to prevent a child not yet born (my
granddaughter) from having her cord clamped immediately. I sent him
an email requesting his help to overcome what I was told was routine
and protocol. In other words, even though the parents have requested
not to have a cord clamped, it is "just routine" and will be done
anyhow.
Resuscitation of the Newborn Child
G. M. Morley, MB ChB FACOG
Most newborns do not need "resuscitation." They are born "alive and
kicking" and soon announce their health by crying. In hospitals
however, preemies, c-section babies, fetal distress and "at risk"
babies receive routine resuscitation treatment whether it is
indicated or not. This consists of immediate clamping and cutting of
the umbilical cord, rapid transfer to a warmer with prompt airway
clearing and ventilation of the lungs. Five-minute Apgar scores below
ten are common; NICU admission occurs frequently.
As very, very few "risk" babies die, it might seem that this type of
resuscitation saves many lives. However, of the babies admitted to
the NICU, especially preemies, brain damage is not uncommon. Some
have cerebral palsy and many are never capable of self-support. [1]
This "resuscitation" is not really revival; it is very rapid, forced
transition from placental breathing to lung breathing. It differs
markedly from what happens at any normal birth when the baby switches
itself from maternal/placental life support to its own life support
systems.
When a truly "at risk" child is born "depressed" - limp, pallid or
blue, not kicking, absent reflexes, and showing no sign of starting
to breathe, with a slow heart rate - the condition is not due to
failure of its lungs or its heart, but failure of its cord and
placenta. The most common cause is cord compression. If the cord is
pulsating, the failure is not total; the cord and placenta are still
keeping the child alive, and placental / cord function should be
restored, not amputated, to maximize revival of the child. This
principle is used to correct fetal distress in utero - changing the
mother's position to relieve cord compression; it is essential in
reviving a distressed newborn.
Normal transition from placental to pulmonary breathing routinely
produces an Apgar score of ten - a healthy (physiological) newborn.
The controlling factors effecting normal transition are:
The "cold crying reflex" - cool, dry air on wet skin. Every baby is
born warm and wet, and its skin cools; it yells. Cold, wet diapers
also produce crying.
Lung aeration reflexively dilates pulmonary arterioles. Inside the
uterus, very little blood flows through the fetal lungs; after birth,
lung vessels conduct all the cardiac output.
The cold pressor reflex increases blood pressure - cold, wet skin
raises blood pressure. Placing an arm in ice water raises blood
pressure.
Massive placental blood transfusion initiates pulmonary circulation -
when the lung blood vessels open, they fill with blood transfused
from the placenta.
Blood flow through the lungs "erects" alveoli - aeration (Jaykka
effect.) Imagine a collapsed rubber glove stuck round a collapsed
balloon; then fill the glove with water. The fingers pull the balloon
open and air enters the balloon.
Massive pulmonary blood flow closes the foramen ovale. See figure 3.
Oxygenated blood closes umbilical arteries reflexively. In the fetus,
blood going to the placenta is de-oxygenated; after the lungs
function, arterial blood is red (oxygenated) and placental arterial
blood flow is shut down.
Increased systemic blood pressure reverses flow in the ductus
arteriosus; blood flows from the aorta into the lungs. See Figure 3.
Oxygenated blood reflexively closes the ductus arteriosus; with the
foramen ovale closed, this creates the left heart and the right heart.
High central venous pressure (placental transfusion) reflexively
closes the ductus venosus and umbilical vein, eventually closing all
umbilical vessels permanently. See the "steps" at the end of Figure 1.
Continuous oxygenation and optimal perfusion of all neonatal life
support organs is thus ensured. Placental breathing continues until
the lungs are breathing, and blood is supplied from the placenta to
make the lungs, heart, kidneys gut and brain support the child's
life. This can only happen if the umbilical cord is left intact after
birth.
Figure 3.
After the ductus arteriosus and foramen ovale close, all blood from
the right ventricle goes through the lungs, and all blood from the
left ventricle goes through the body. After the umbilical vessels and
ductus venosus close, blood from the gut flows through the portal
vein to the liver. This complicated switch from a "one sided heart"
to a "two sided heart with lungs" requires a large placental
transfusion to effect it. Immediate cord clamping prevents placental
transfusion and the consequent blood loss may prevent the lungs and
other organs from functioning.
Figure 1 [2] is NOT what usually happens at birth. Wrapped in a warm
blanket, this child had no cold crying reflex; it did not breathe for
nearly ten minutes, living (very well, kicking the bed) off placental
breathing. Its weight increases when the uterus squeezes blood into
the child; weight decreases when the child's heart pumps blood back
into the placenta during uterine relaxation. After breathing is well-
established, uterine contraction forces some blood into the child,
then flow stops and none flows back into the placenta - the cord
arteries are closed and the vein is acting like a pressure valve. The
next contraction produces another step increase in blood volume after
which all umbilical vessels stay closed.
The last 5 to 7 minutes of this record (Figure 1) is what normally
happens when a child starts crying soon after birth. If the child is
held below the level of the placenta, gravity transfuses the child as
well as uterine contraction and the child achieves a normal blood
volume much more quickly. This baby's weight increased by about 150
gms. It received a 150ml blood transfusion. Note that the baby's
reflexes stopped the transfusion, preventing it from getting too much
blood.
Immediate cord clamping (ICC) u
|