When your baby enters this world, he will be attached via the umbilical cord until it is clamped. According to the World Health Organization, Delayed Cord Clamping (DCC) is done after more than one minute has passed. Elizabeth Fontenot, Certified Nurse-Midwife at the Birth Center of Baton Rouge, says, “When the cord remains attached, the placenta continues to pump blood into the baby. This leads to an increase in the infant’s blood volume, which aids the transition to life outside the womb. It decreases the incidence of iron deficiency anemia and brain bleed, increases stem cells, reduces the need for blood transfusions, and is associated with improvements in neurodevelopment.”

This article was originally published in Spring 2024.