Hi everyone,
I am at 36 weeks and trying to figure out if we should bank Baby’s cord blood. I’ve tried a little online research, but I don’t see anything that says there is a definite benefit of using his own cord blood. So, I’m wondering if we could just collect it in a public bank as opposed to a private bank.
What are your thoughts on this? My biggest fear is that he will develop diabetes, so I’m willing to do what I can to prevent or help avoid or (dare I say) cure it if he does.
Thanks for your thoughts!
I have no comments about cord blood but during my training to become a breastfeeding counsellor I have became very aware about the link between cows milk protein triggering diabetes and the dangers especially of using it in ythe 24 hours after the babys birth. I have no links but I suggest you Google it. It is something to do witj the islets of langerhans which produce the insulin being the same sjape as cows milk protein which can then cause the bodys immune system to target the cows milk protein cells and also the islets of langerhans.
We did the research too and decided not to bank the cord blood. I didn't feel that there was enough guarantee of the benefit to justify the high cost of storing. I know many other parents decided differently, but I felt that we could use that money in other ways that I know would benefit our son's health and well-being. I would have donated to a public bank, but did not have that option where we live.
You also can access from a public bank later if needed. It may not be as good as your own, but from my understanding it is possible to find another acceptable match.
That's interesting. Did you bring your own formula to the hospital in case you weren't able to breastfeed within 24 hrs?
Well Colin had his own agenda. He ended up coming 3 weeks early, so we didn’t have time to decide. Oh well. I think we can still access public blood if we need to in the future. Thanks for the responses, though!
Wow. Congrats! How are you doing?