# Question regarding the cutting of the umbilical cord **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-the-cutting-of-the-umbilical-cord/800043 "2017-10-28T02:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-the-cutting-of-the-umbilical-cord/800043/1 "2017-10-28T02:08:32Z")
Hi, I came across this article > **[Mom allegedly killed baby by cutting umbilical with scissors](https://nypost.com/2017/10/27/mom-allegedly-killed-baby-by-cutting-umbilical-with-scissors/)** > > PAINTSVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky woman who investigators say killed her newborn child has been charged with murder. An Oct. 20 indictment says 34-year-old Amanda Meade caused the baby girl’s Oct. 15 d… The article doesn’t supply enough information to say whether the mother deliberately harmed her baby. How does cutting an umbilical cord (a normal practice) cause death? It intrigued me how air supply could be cut off by cutting the umbilical cord with a scissors once the infant is born. At which point would the mother after giving birth have cut the umbilical cord to cause asphyxiation or the deprivation of oxygen? When women give birth in public places without medical assistance how do they usually deal with the umbilical cord? Let it fall off naturally?Clamp it and cut it themselves? I look forward to your feedback ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-the-cutting-of-the-umbilical-cord/800043/2 "2017-10-28T02:34:36Z")
Cut the cord too soon without clamping it off, and the baby can exsanguinate. I.e. bleed to death. So the oxygen is not cut off. Left on its own, the cord eventually contracts, the blood in it clots, and then the cord can be severed with whatever’s handy; scissors, knife, teeth. Usually within 30-60 minutes of delivery, IIRC. I haven’t delivered any babies since 1990, tho I delivered a few hundred between 1980 and then. My standard routine was to place the clamps about 2 inches apart, with one about 2 inches from baby, and cut between them. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-the-cutting-of-the-umbilical-cord/800043/3 "2017-10-28T03:17:49Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Cut the cord too soon without clamping it off, and the baby can exsanguinate. I.e. bleed to death. So the oxygen is not cut off. > > Left on its own, the cord eventually contracts, the blood in it clots, and then the cord can be severed with whatever’s handy; scissors, knife, teeth. Usually within 30-60 minutes of delivery, IIRC. I haven’t delivered any babies since 1990, tho I delivered a few hundred between 1980 and then. > > My standard routine was to place the clamps about 2 inches apart, with one about 2 inches from baby, and cut between them. Thank you Qadgop. That article makes sense now. Very helpful. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-the-cutting-of-the-umbilical-cord/800043/4 "2017-10-28T20:28:35Z")
If the baby’s airway isn’t cleared so it doesn’t start breathing with its lungs right away, does it keep receiving oxygen through the cord after birth? If so, for how long – the half hour QtM mentions, or does it stop a lot sooner? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-the-cutting-of-the-umbilical-cord/800043/5 "2017-10-28T23:22:46Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > If the baby’s airway isn’t cleared so it doesn’t start breathing with its lungs right away, does it keep receiving oxygen through the cord after birth? If so, for how long – the half hour QtM mentions, or does it stop a lot sooner? Much sooner. Mom usually delivers up the placenta within 5-10 minutes of delivering up the baby, and the placenta and cord start to shut down before placental separation. Until fully contracted/clotted there is a risk of neonatal hemorrhage via the cord, but they stop getting oxygen from it well before that. And babies’ airways are usually quite good at clearing themselves, unless there’s meconium (baby poop) aspiration going on. So most airway clearance done by delivery personnel is just precautionary, not life saving.