Placenta and Umbilical Cord Musings

We went to another pre-natal class, number 4. It was a bit of a repeat of the other classes (we ended up taking them a bit out of order as we had to re-schedule 2 of them). But again the videos showing women delivering – their placentas this time.

The placenta is an amazing organ. It grows rapidly to attach itself into the uterine wall from which it gathers nourishment for the growing fetus. Through the umbilical cord all necessities of life and growth are channelled to the baby – all the nutrition, hormones and oxygen it requires to develop. All the while maintaining a barrier between the pregnant mother and baby’s blood systems. This is the part that amazes me the most – that the baby and mom’s blood never mix but exchange all the necessities and waste materials through the placenta. It’s truly a wonderous organ.

Anyhow the less wonderous part is watching it being expelled from the formerly-pregnant mother’s body. It appears with a gush of blood, a mottled bluish thing with the umbilical connection on one side with dark red-brown tissue on the other. It’s carefully turned over and examined to ensure the whole placenta has been delivered and that there are no pieces still stuck to the mother’s uterus which may cause life-threatening bleeding. It’s not exactly a beautiful looking thing – it reminds me of crushed liver on the dark side, with some sort of alien-movie membrane on the other.

What people do with these things is mind-boggling. Some people make prints of the placenta. Others leave it attached to the baby and umbilical cord for days until the umbilical cord naturally falls off the baby’s body. To ensure the placenta doesn’t get really gross and disgusting (it starts to decay in short order) it’s carefully packed in a mix of salt and herbs. Some people take it home and plant a tree over top. And yet others take it home and cook it up. That’s just a bit too much for me!

We also discussed a bit about cord blood harvesting and when the umbilical cord is normally cut (or not). If cord blood is to be harvested, the umbilical cord needs to be cut while it’s still pulsating and full of baby’s blood otherwise there won’t be any blood to collect. Otherwise the cord can be left as long as the parent’s desire as long as there are no life-threatening issues. Leaving it attached allows the baby to absorb as much of the cord blood and stem cells it contains for its own use. And as I mentioned above, some people take this to the extreme of leaving it attached to the baby and placenta until it falls off the baby’s navel naturally, anywhere from 5 to 10 days later. Again, that’s a bit much for me.

I’m still not so sure I want to cut the umbilical cord myself. And personally, I figure it’s probably best to leave the cord attached for at least a few minutes to allow the baby to absorb as much of the cord blood as it can. We’re not going to go for the cord blood storage – really, the chances of it being useful later is miniscule and the cost is prohibitive. We were considering donating it to a baby cord-blood bank so those in need can get it, but it seems that the public one in BC has shut down. Plus it means that the umbilical cord needs to be clamped early while it’s still pulsating and full of blood.

I’m ot as squeemish as I was after the first prenatal class, but I still have to say I’m not keen on standing there watching Peach come out. I’ll stay near Mom-to-Be’s head and provide as much support as possible without passing out!