We left Tehya's cord attahced until it stopped pulsating approximately 20 minutes after her birth. While the cord is still attached there is no immediate need for baby to breath so if bub is alittle slow to start all is good as it is getting oxygen still through the pulsating cord. Basically cords are cllamped in hospital as a mater of convenience to the Dr's pretty much the same as the oxytocin injection. She was quite pink for the few days following her birth due to the extra blood butof course other than that she had no reactions or problems from it. I figure that if they need this blood so badly for other babies, how good must it be for mine. Afterall it is HER blood

The baby, the cord, and active management
Adaptation to life outside the womb is the major physiological task for the baby in third stage. In utero, the wondrous placenta fulfills the functions of lungs, kidney, gut and liver for our babies. Blood flow to these organs is minimal until the baby takes a first breath, at which time huge changes begin in the organisation of the circulatory system
Within the baby’s body, blood becomes, over several minutes, diverted away from the umbilical cord and placenta and, as the lungs fill with air, blood is sucked into the pulmonary (lung) circulation. Mother Nature ensures a reservoir of blood in the cord and placenta, that provides the additional blood necessary for these newly-perfused pulmonary and organ systems.
The transfer of this reservoir of blood from the placenta to the baby happens in a step-wise progression, with blood entering the baby with each third-stage contraction, and some blood returning to the placenta between contractions. Crying slows the intake of blood, which is also controlled by constriction of the vessels within the cord (Gunther 1957) – both of which imply that the baby may be able to regulate the transfusion according to individual need.
Gravity will affect the transfer of blood, with optimal transfer occurring when the baby remains at or below the level of the uterus until the cessation of cord pulsation signals that the transfer is complete. This process of "physiological clamping" typically takes 3 minutes, but may be longer, or can be complete in only one minute. (Linderkamp 1982)
This elegant and time-tested system, which ensures that an optimum, but not a standard, amount of blood is transferred, is rendered inoperable by the current practice of early clamping of the cord- usually within 30 seconds of birth.
Early clamping has been widely adopted in Western obstetrics as part of the package known as active management of the third stage. This comprises the use of an oxytocic agent- a drug that, like oxytocin, causes the uterus to contract strongly- given usually by injection into the mothers thigh as the baby is born, as well as early cord clamping, and ‘controlled cord traction’- that is, pulling on the cord to deliver the placenta as quickly as possible.
Haste becomes necessary, because the oxytocic injection will, within a few minutes, cause very strong uterine contractions that can trap an undelivered placenta, making an operation and ‘manual removal’ necessary. Furthermore, if the cord is not clamped before the oxytocic effect commences, the baby is at risk of having too much blood suddenly pumped from the placenta by the over-zealous contractions.
While the aim of active management is to reduce the risk of haemorrhage for the mother, "its widespread acceptance was not preceded by studies evaluating the effects of depriving neonates [newborn babies] of a significant volume of blood" (Piscane 1996)
It is estimated that early clamping deprives the baby of 54 to 160 ml of blood, (Usher 1963) which represents up to half of a baby’s total blood volume at birth. "Clamping the cord before the infant’s first breath results in blood being sacrificed from other organs to establish pulmonary perfusion.[blood supply to the lungs].Fatality may result if the child is already hypovolemic [low in blood volume]." (Morley 1997)
Where the baby is lifted above the uterus before clamping- for example during caesarean surgery- blood will drain back to the placenta by gravity, making these babies especially liable to receive less than their expected blood volume. The consequence of this may be an increased risk of respiratory (breathing) distress- several studies have shown this condition, which is common in caesarean-born babies, to be eliminated when a full placental transfusion was allowed. (Peltonen 1981, Landau 1953).
The baby whose cord is clamped early also loses the iron contained within that blood- early clamping has been linked with an extra risk of anaemia in infancy. (Grajeda 1997,Michaelson 1995).
These sequellae of early clamping were recognised as far back as 1801, when Erasmus Darwin wrote:
"Another thing very injurious to the child is the tying and cutting of the navel string too soon; which should always be left till the child has not only repeatedly breathed but till all pulsation in the cord ceases. As otherwise the child is much weaker than it ought to be, a part of the blood being left in the placenta which ought to have been in the child" (Darwin 1801))
In one study, premature babies experiencing delayed cord clamping-, the delay was only 30 seconds- showed a reduced need for transfusion, less severe breathing problems, better oxygen levels, and indications of probable improved long-term outcomes, compared to those whose cords were clamped immediately. (Kinmond 1993).
Some studies have shown an increased risk of polycythemia (more red blood cells in the blood) and jaundice when the cord is clamped later. Polycythemia may be beneficial, in that more red cells means more oxygen being delivered to the tissues. The risk that polycythemia will cause the blood to become too thick (hyperviscosity syndrome), which is often used as an argument against delayed cord clamping, seems to be negligible in healthy babies. (Morley 1998)
Jaundice is almost certain when a baby gets his or her full quota of blood, and is caused by the breakdown of the normal excess of blood to produce bilirubin, the pigment that causes the yellow appearance of a jaundiced baby. There is, however, no evidence of adverse effects from this. (Morley 1998). One author has proposed that jaundice, which is present in almost all human infants to some extent, and which is often prolonged by breastfeeding, may actually be beneficial because of the anti-oxidant properties of bilirubin. (Gartner 1998)
Early cord clamping carries the further disadvantage of depriving the baby of the oxygen-rich placental blood that mother nature provides to tide the baby over until breathing is well established. In situations of extreme distress- for example, if the baby takes several minutes to breathe-this reservoir of oxygenated blood can be life saving, but, ironically, standard practice is to cut the cord immediately if resuscitation is needed.
The placental circulation acts, when the cord is intact, as a conduit for any drug given to the mother, whether during pregnancy, labour or third stage. Garrison (1999) reports that Narcan, which is sometimes needed by the baby to counteract the sedating effect of pain-relieving drugs such as pethidine (demorol), given to the mother in labour, can be effectively administered via the mother’s veins in third stage, waking up the newborn baby in a matter of seconds.
The recent discovery of the amazing properties of cord blood, in particular the stem cells contained within it, heightens, for me, the need to ensure that a newborn baby gets its full quota. These cells are unique to this stage of development, and will migrate to the baby’s bone morrow soon after birth, transforming themselves into various types of blood-making cells,
Cord blood harvesting, which is currently being promoted to fill Cord Blood Banks for future treatment of children with leukaemia, involves immediate clamping, and up to 100 ml of this extraordinary blood can be taken from the baby to whom it belongs. Perhaps this is justifiable where active management is practiced, and the blood would be otherwise discarded, but, unfortunately, cord blood donation is incompatible with a physiological (natural) third stage.
This information comes from the Birthsong Childbirth Education Support Services site.