Hi Gemma. Like Shannon said, I wasn't given the needle when I had Angus in hospital, and it was fine. Placenta didn't take long, about 15 mins. The afterpains were quite strong (I'm told they get worse with each baby - great, lol). The needle wasn't even suggested to me, but I had a great midwife. Funnily though, for both my homebirths I was given the needle, although with my knowledge and consent. With my first birth I bled more, so the midwife, observing this, probably thought it a good precaution. I'm pretty sure it was done after the placenta came out though, so was more for encouraging the uterus to contract back down. With my second birth I was given the needle pretty quickly, perhaps they were more nervous about bleeding with me being at home, or because I bled a bit the first time.

Anyway, you don't need the needle as a routine thing! They should observe your third stage and blood loss and how your uterus is contracting back down closely. It's there if it's really needed. You don't have to agree to things just because they say it's standard, and they can't do things without your consent. Having said that, the needle's not a big deal imo.

The cord on the other hand..... I always say I want the cord to stop pulsating before they clamp & cut it, and they always have. I hadn't heard about any link to jaundice though, but Lola did have a bit for a couple of days. A bit of sunlight filtering through lace curtains was all that was needed. I figure it's best to let the cord behave naturally, and it's only a few minutes before it stops pulsating.

The cord blood thing, well I'm shocked after reading this thread. I filled in the form to donate cord blood this time. I didn't hear back so I rang them, and they don't do it for twins cos they're worried about getting them mixed up. Anyway, I asked questions about how it affects the cord clamping and was told it doesn't affect it at all, that you can still allow it to stop pulsating first. So either the woman on the phone was lying to me or didn't know what she was talking about, or Sarah Buckley has it wrong. I didn't know it was 100 ml either. I love the idea of donating cord blood for kids with leukamia, but I'd be asking a lot of questions of the cord blood bank people. If they want us to consider doing it we deserve to have accurate information about it first!!