Another 2 points in response to your comment about research on cord blood: “then at least it’s being used for something!” First, some people may want to really think about WHAT the research companies will do with these donations. If you are morally opposed to cloning or biological weapons, you might not want to contribute to those companies. You have NO rights to what happens to your baby’s cells after they are donated.

Second, if allowed to transfuse into the baby, the cord blood WILL be used for something — to give baby the proper amount of blood volume! As you may have found in your research, there is no evidence to support premature cord clamping. It’s a hold-over from times when most babies were delivered with forceps while the mom was under general anesthesia, and the babies often emerged unresponsive. The cord had to be cut immediately to move the baby to another area to be resuscitated. No studies have conclusively shown that waiting to clamp the cord will actually increase jaundice, or that it would be dangerous for the baby if it did. Most doctors over-treat this normal condition.

I hope this information might be useful to you if you have a successful VBAC with a future pregnancy, or for anyone else who is considering the question of “when to clamp?” and considering cord blood donation.