<<They are now planning to recommend that the baby be held at a lower = level than the placenta for a minute or so, while it is being dried off and = given a chance to 'scream itself up a little' (my translation - it sounds just = as bad in Swedish, believe me!). I assume the aim is to get the vascular = bed in the lungs properly filled with blood while the cord is intact. They expect to see far fewer anemic children in the second year of life.>> Dear Rachel and all, thanks for posting this. Looks like, finally, the Swedes have instituted the science published in 2007, see: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1948088 Hutton, E. K., & Hassan, E. S. (2007). Late versus early clamping of the umbilical cord in full-term neonates: Systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. Journal of the American Medical Association, 297(11), 1241-1252. It is so frustrating to read that 1. 3 minutes is somehow the new standard. What would be wrong with leaving the cord alone for 30 minutes as many homebirth midwives do? MotherNature didn't invent scissors and clamps, after all, and babies have been born just fine without them for millennia. 2. that the baby would be held below the level of the placenta and made to cry. Another interference in the natural process. Don't physicians in Sweden realize that there are two umbilical arteries and one vein?? The blood doesn't just pour one way---it is a to and from system. Just as blood doesn't pool in your feet if you stand up, the blood doesn't pool in the placenta if the baby is held in the mother's arms. It seems that even when baby steps are taken toward making birth more humane, we still have so far to go. Gloria Lemay, Vancouver BC http://www.glorialemay.com/blog *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome