Did you know that in the 1960s immediate cord clamping and cutting was started to prevent hemorrhage. But more recent research found this did not reduce the risk yet the practiced is still continued. So whats the differnce between delayed cord clamping and optimal cord clamping? Delayed cord clamping means that the cord is not cut and clamped straight away after birth, allowing all the blood containing oxygen, nutrients, stem cells, and iron to continue through to the baby. Did you know that almost one third of a baby's blood volume is still in the placenta at birth. Half that blood is transfused into the baby after 1 minute. If you wait 3 minutes more then 90% of the transfusion is complete. Optimal Cord clamping means waiting until the cord has stopped pulsating. This means that the baby has received all their blood from the placenta. There are many benefits to this including increased iron reserve, increased blood volume, enriched immunoglobulins and stem cells that play an essential role in the development of the immune respiratory, cardiovascular and central nervous systems and more.