Aloha, 'Well, go visit an "old" cemetery and count the infant >graves >and then go to a >"new" cemetery and count the infant graves. Need I say more?' I need to put my .02 in here too. I don't have references to back me up here, but I think most of those deaths occured after birth, not during birth, due to many variables already mentioned. As I recall, the U.S. still has a very high infant mortality rate for a western, industrialized and "civilized" country. And don't we have all the modern medical miracle birth interventions? Again, I believe the mortality rate here is after birth as well. As for those interventions, yes, they do have their place. I know I probably sound like I am against all interventions----not true. I am against the routine use of these interventions when unnecessary. Again, isn't the intervention the problem with the cord blood and when to cut? I doubt this was ever considered a problem in the past history of humans. Now, it is. How did we survive if the cord was being cut too late? How did we survive without abm? (Got a breastfeeding reference in here! :D Why milk the cord? Shouldn't baby be on mom's abdomen anyway? One last point. Sorry, I have no references here to back me. However, I am almost certain that I read if the cord is not cut until after it stops pulsing, the baby would get the rest of the iron stores needed to see her through the first year. None of my children were ever anemic-----my first did not start solids until 11 months too. No supplements either. I was not flat on my back when my children were born and they were all placed on my abdomen immediately. No problems experienced from them receiving too much blood. I could go on, but I have probably said enough already. :D Aloha, Gloria Thai Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i located 20 degrees North of the Equator