Delayed cord clamping

Delayed cord clamping means waiting a short time after birth before clamping and cutting your baby’s umbilical cord, rather than doing it immediately. It’s become standard practice in Australia for healthy births, and it’s a small thing that gives your baby a nice head start — worth understanding so you can note your wishes in your birth plan.

What it is. After your baby is born, the umbilical cord keeps pulsing for a little while, still delivering blood from the placenta to your baby. Delayed clamping simply means waiting — often at least a minute or two, or until the cord stops pulsing — so that extra blood transfers to your baby before the cord is clamped and cut.

Why it’s done. That extra blood gives your baby a boost of red blood cells and a better store of iron, which helps guard against iron deficiency in the first months of life. For premature babies in particular, it’s linked with meaningful health benefits. For most healthy babies, it’s a simple, gentle way to start life with a little more of what’s theirs anyway.

How it happens. In an uncomplicated birth, your baby is often placed straight onto your chest for skin-to-skin while the cord is still attached, and clamping simply happens a little later. You usually won’t need to do anything — it’s increasingly the default — but it’s still worth stating in your birth plan that you’d like delayed clamping if all is well.

When it might not be possible. Sometimes immediate clamping is the safer choice — for example, if your baby needs urgent help to breathe and the resuscitation team needs them, or in certain situations for you or your baby. If that happens, it’s because your baby’s immediate wellbeing comes first, and your team will explain.

Who cuts the cord. Cutting the cord itself doesn’t hurt you or your baby (there are no nerves in it). Many families like the birth partner to cut it, which can be a lovely moment — just let your team know if that’s something you’d like. It’s completely fine to pass, too.

A note on cord blood banking. If you’re considering collecting or donating cord blood, it’s worth knowing this can interact with delayed clamping (collecting cord blood needs some of that blood), so discuss the timing and your priorities with your provider and the banking service in advance.

Does it delay the cuddle? Not at all — the wait is short, and it typically happens while your baby is already on your chest for skin-to-skin, so it doesn’t interrupt those first precious moments. If anything, it fits naturally into them, and you may not even notice it happening amid meeting your baby.

A note on jaundice. Because delayed clamping gives your baby more red blood cells, it’s associated with a very slightly higher chance of newborn jaundice — the common yellow tinge many babies get in the first week — which your midwife will keep an eye on and which is usually easily managed. For the vast majority of babies, the benefits of that extra iron comfortably outweigh this small consideration, and it’s simply one of the things your team weighs up in deciding what’s best for your baby on the day.

There’s nothing you need to do to make it happen beyond noting your wish — it costs nothing, needs no special equipment, and is simply a short, patient pause before the cord is cut. If you’d like to know how it’ll work where you’re giving birth, your midwife can tell you their usual practice.

Delayed cord clamping is a small, evidence-backed default that benefits your baby, and it usually fits easily around skin-to-skin and the first golden moments after birth. Pop your preference in your birth plan, and know your team will do it whenever it’s safe — and prioritise your baby’s immediate needs if it’s not.