It is very important to keep the mood in the room the same even after your baby is born. It’s not over until your placenta is born, this is the third stage of labour. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It’s a good idea to have your preferences around this added to your birth plan. Natural third stage is when you simply wait for your body to release the placenta. Managed third stage is done by injecting an artificial hormone to contract the uterus and release the placenta. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In certain circumstances a managed third stage may be necessary but if not then its best to let nature take its course. The body knows what to do. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ With a managed third stage, the cord is often clamped within 30 seconds of the birth. Again, sometimes this is necessary but if it is not then delaying cord clamping has huge benefits to your baby. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ✂️ Baby receives full quota of stem cells and we are becoming more aware of the amazing properties of stem cells in the cord blood⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ✂️ It is estimated that almost half of the full amount of blood passes through the cord to the baby before the cord stops pulsating ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A few moments after your baby is born your body produces its highest peak of oxytocin. If you interfere with this process by introducing a synthetic hormone (managed third stage), your body’s own production of oxytocin will be reduced which can impact breastfeeding. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ After your placenta is born, make sure it is checked and get confirmation that it is fully intact and there is no retained placenta. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Speak to your midwife. Explain that you would like a natural third stage unless of course there is a clinical reason for not being able to. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hot tip....Lying on a bed doesn’t help the placenta being born so sit over a bed pan on the toilet and gravity will help.
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