# After unplanned homebirth, dad cuts umbilical cord to SAVE BABY'S LIFE!



## *MamaJen* (Apr 24, 2007)

Oh jeez. I have read a lot of news stories in which the reporter obviously knew less than nothing about birth. But in this story, they actually, literally say that the dad used a pair of scissors to cut the cord and KEEP THE BABY ALIVE!!! after an unplanned homebirth. How far can I







?
http://www.kens5.com/news/East-Texas...-96766524.html


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## Romana (Mar 3, 2006)

Quote:

Dr. Blonder had already told Ricky what to do next. Ricky found construction paper scissors that belonged to his boys and some string he cut off the family's outdoor hammock.

After tightening the string around the cord, Ricky prepared himself for the next step.

"I just said a prayer, held my breath and made the cut," Ricky said.

Fortunately, the technique worked.
ROTFLMAO! Baby's lucky it didn't get an infection from using scissors that weren't sterile and string from an OUTDOOR hammock.

Are we sure this isn't from the Onion?


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## wombatclay (Sep 4, 2005)

*~~~~~~~moderator moment~~~~~~~~*

This is just a gentle reminder that although this is a fascinating story, and certainly a good jumping off point for a discussion of how "normal birth" is anything but normal in today's birth climate, the mdc user agreement ask that members:

Quote:

*Do not post to invite MDC members to other communities*, blogs or message boards for adversarial purposes or link to discussion about MDC at another site. *Do not negatively discuss other communities or discussions elsewhere* (this includes blog comments), regardless of whether or not you link to that discussion or community. This is to maintain and respect the integrity of our own and other communities.
If you have any questions or concerns about this, please let me know. Thanks!

*~~~~~~~~no back to your regularly scheduled thread~~~~~~~~*


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## Veritaserum (Apr 24, 2004)

I'd be much more worried about infection from unsterilized scissors and string from out in the yard than a newborn attached to her placenta. It's...bizarre how much emphasis is placed on the _necessity_







of immediate cord clamping. Hopefully, we will eventually see this practice dropped.


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## jennica (Aug 10, 2005)

The article says the baby spent two weeks in the hospital. I wonder if that had anything to do with the lack of sterile instruments used to cut the cord.


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## loveneverfails (Feb 20, 2009)

What on EARTH!!!?!?? You've got a late pre-term infant, and you're going out to the yard to cut a string from the hammock to cut the cord!?!? Dude, priorities. This is just bizarre.


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## Romana (Mar 3, 2006)

I don't blame the dad for not knowing what to do. The doctor gave him poor and/or incomplete advice. And the reporter didn't bother to learn anything, even basic facts, before writing the story.

Really illustrative example of how twisted birth culture is in America most of the time, though.


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## CoBabyMaker (Nov 13, 2008)

I am honestly interested in what people think is in the umbilical cord/placenta. The "OMG, we've got to cut this cord!" reaction seems to be a re-occurring theme in these type of articles (meaning unplanned HB/UC). Like another poster mentioned, they are just trusting their doctors advice which is what our society tends to do. I'm seriously tempted to post a poll on FB or something asking what people think will happen or what they think is in there though.


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## accountclosed3 (Jun 13, 2006)

i'm so lucky, then, that my son didnt' die due to being attached to his cord for 9 whole hours after his birth. OMG, am i lucky. LOL


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## CherryBomb (Feb 13, 2005)

I don't blame the dad, but I can't believe the doctor gave such awful advice! Yeah great, cut it with unsterile scissors, way to give the baby a raging infection, geesh.


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## jensb (Jun 27, 2008)

How on earth did our species survive for thousands of years before hospitals if people also didn't have scissors and handy rope or string at home? It's a wonder we're all here!


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## VK1987 (Apr 28, 2010)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Veritaserum* 
I'd be much more worried about infection from unsterilized scissors and string from out in the yard than a newborn attached to her placenta. It's...bizarre how much emphasis is placed on the _necessity_







of immediate cord clamping. Hopefully, we will eventually see this practice dropped.



















Quote:

Dr. Blonder had already told Ricky what to do next. Ricky found construction paper scissors that belonged to his boys and some string he cut off the family's outdoor hammock.

After tightening the string around the cord, Ricky prepared himself for the next step.

"I just said a prayer, held my breath and made the cut," Ricky said.

Fortunately, the technique worked.
"technique"??

Oh, and two weeks in the hospital???


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## corban's mum (Feb 9, 2010)

if you actually strip back all the rubbish hype, that was just a nice-but-dull story of a normal birth and one lucky mama who had such an easy labour. the end.

NOT a life-or-death situation that should have made it anywhere near the media really is it?

she felt weird, she gave birth - what's so interesting/scary about that eh hahaha


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## *MamaJen* (Apr 24, 2007)

I think the two weeks in the hospital was because the baby was five weeks perterm.
I emailed the reporter, and I got a response, but I'm pretty sure she didn't actually read my email. She brightly thanked me for being a viewer







and told me she valued the input of all of her viewers.


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## wombatclay (Sep 4, 2005)

I was thinking about this last night and the thing that really stood out to me was the unnecessary fear that must have been felt by both mom and dad... can you imagine how frightening that must have been? And without much need. I mean yes, an unplanned homebirth would probably be stressful, but if you've been educated about normal birth, perhaps been at a normal birth, have family/friends who have had normal births... well, the stress is there, but probably not the same sense of near terror.

But today families are divorced from normal birth... it's something that happens to them, in a ritualized setting with ritualized procedures and ritual experts (sorry, my anthro is talking!). Birth isn't something you can do on your own. So when "birth happens" just think of the shock, fear, and stress.







I'm guessing that any future births in this family would be induced to avoid this same "tragedy"... but if they'd known that normal birth is, well, normal then maybe they would have felt less negative emotion at the time and might consider planned homebirths in the future since they would be confident that birth does, indeed, happen.

It just breaks my heart that birth has been stolen away from our culture to the extent that it can cause fear, panic, stress, and terror. I'm actually proud of this couple for "getting through it".... _I_ may feel like a homebirth is normal, but like an agoraphobe walking to the mailbox to get the mail for the first time ever... for _them_ it's a big deal. I just wish it wasn't.

(I have a mild phobia of driving... getting into a car causes a panic attack, but we live rurally and I have to drive almost every day. So I have a certain sympathy for people who find something "normal" to be "scary", and a kinship to their possibly "silly" pride in having done that "normal' act.)


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## seaheroine (Dec 24, 2004)

Oh FFS. Will it never end?


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## Tummy (Feb 24, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *seaheroine* 
Oh FFS. Will it never end?

For real! Such a horrible article, and the headline, are you kidding me!?!?! wth!


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## jimblejamble (May 18, 2007)

Ahh crap,I think my eyeballs just rolled right out of my head, can someone help me find them?!

Good grief.


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## nutritionistmom (Jun 16, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zoebird* 
i'm so lucky, then, that my son didnt' die due to being attached to his cord for 9 whole hours after his birth. OMG, am i lucky. LOL










I have nothing else to add.


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## amber87507 (Jan 21, 2003)

Wombatclay, that's exactly what I was thinking. That yes to most of us "here" birth is perfectly normal and natural, but that's our perspective.
I imagine their perspective was far different, that babies are meant to be born in hospitals and for it to happen otherwise is very scary and perhaps dangerous.

I just think that if that extreme fear wasnt there, she could have had the chance to enjoy the experience, I mean at least for what it was. While giving birth early in of itself can be scary, but if just knowing what was happening and happening at home wasn't going to be automatically harmful to her and her baby she would have felt much better.

I remember when I was younger watching shows like "911" where a mother was giving birth at home and it was treated like a life/death emergency, and since I didnt know anything else, it seemed exactly like that.

This knee jerk fear that rises up and you think, you are clueless, and inept to handle giving birth w/o the "help" of "professionals."
It took many years before I learned that giving birth was something completely different than what the media shows us.

I cant believe the doctor thought it was better to cut the cord w/dirty utensils and outdoor string than just wait? What did they think was going to happen? I dont get it. Ignorance.









I actually grew up in East Texas area, so I thought that was interesting.
I could give other opinions about the story but Ill keep them to myself.

Im glad others left comments, perhaps people may actually learn something instead of perpetuating the myth.


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## lunarlady (Jan 4, 2010)

I read it and thought that if that same family heard about lotus birth their heads might explode.







Not cut the cord at all? Crazy! So sad that cutting the cord was such a priority. Not just a "wow, look at our kid" moment, but a "oh no, medical emergancy!" On the plus side it sounds like everyone is healthy and that family now has a great story to tell at parties forevermore.


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## MegBoz (Jul 8, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *amber87507* 
I remember when I was younger watching shows like "911" where a mother was giving birth at home and it was treated like a life/death emergency, *and since I didnt know anything else, it seemed exactly like that.*

_emphasis added_
Exactly! And if I hadn't read "The Thinking Woman's Guide" I would have also continued to believe what OBs told me:

eating & drinking in labor can kill your baby (a pediatrician said this to a friend at her shower)
cEFM is not only safe, _not_ having EFM on continuously could result in a dead baby
Induction is not only safe, but going beyond 41W is horribly dangerous
AROM is not only safe, but beneficial
GBS is horribly dangerous & the ABTs are fine (Oh, and the vaginal exams are risk-free & vital too)
etc. etc. etc.








Sad. Just sad. It's one thing if people have fear of birth _after_ being educated (like in the case of agoraphobia - I would imagine those people, _intellectually_ realize the world isn't that dangerous, but that doesn't stop the fear.) Fear is an emotion & emotions are difficult to control & often won't be tamed by reason, facts & logic.

But it's the fact that people are so IGNORANT about birth - they simply DON'T KNOW simple facts that I find so dreadfully sad.


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## *MamaJen* (Apr 24, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MegBoz* 
But it's the fact that people are so IGNORANT about birth - they simply DON'T KNOW simple facts that I find so dreadfully sad.

I agree. What I found even worse was the fact that a journalist and her editor were also that ignorant about birth, and that kind of blatant misstatement of biological fact made it into the mainstream media, which people generally believe to be true (and granted, I'm a print journalist and I can't tell you how much we look down our noses at TV reporters, but still).


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## phreedom (Apr 19, 2007)

Before I read the article, I was expecting a tight nuchal cord or a true knot in the cord or something like that in which cutting the cord would be more of a "life saving measure". This does not appear to be the case.

I'm glad that the baby was delivered safely and I imagine that the parents must have been afraid. Especially if a home birth was not something they were accustomed to or prepared for. Why was there such a weird emphasis on the cord cutting? (not to say anything of the dirty scissors and string...)


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## rabbitmum (Jan 25, 2007)

Very weird that people know so little about something as basic as birth!


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