Cutting the umbilical cord does not hurt the baby or the mother. The cord itself is made up of connective tissue, blood vessels, and a gelatinous substance called Wharton’s jelly, none of which contain pain-sensing nerve fibers. The clamp-and-cut happens several centimeters away from the baby’s belly, on tissue that has no capacity to register pain. That said, what the newborn experiences in the moments surrounding cord clamping is more interesting than a simple “no” suggests.
Why the Cord Has No Pain Receptors
The umbilical cord is essentially a supply line. It shuttles oxygenated blood and nutrients from the placenta to the baby, and carries deoxygenated blood and waste products back. Its structure reflects that narrow purpose: two arteries and one vein, all embedded in Wharton’s jelly, a soft protective matrix that cushions the vessels. There are no sensory nerves threaded through this tissue. When a doctor or midwife clamps the cord and cuts between the clamps, neither the baby nor the placental side registers it as a painful stimulus. Think of it like cutting through a garden hose that has no wiring inside.
An important distinction exists between the cord and the skin immediately surrounding the baby’s navel. Research on the umbilical skin of adult females has found abundant sensory nerve endings there, comparable in density to some of the most sensitive skin on the body.1PubMed Central. Sensory innervation of the female human umbilical skin: morphological studies But the cut is made well out on the cord, usually a few inches from the belly, nowhere near that sensitive skin. The remaining stump that stays attached to the baby dries up and falls off within a week or two, and that process is also painless for the baby because the stump tissue itself still lacks nerve endings.
What the Baby Actually Experiences at the Moment of Clamping
Even though the cut itself doesn’t hurt, the act of clamping and severing the cord triggers a powerful physiological shift. The baby goes from receiving oxygen through the placenta to relying entirely on its own lungs, sometimes within seconds. Research in animal models has shown that cord cutting is a potent stimulus for a surge of stress hormones called catecholamines. Levels of norepinephrine and epinephrine spike rapidly after clamping, peaking within about five minutes and remaining elevated for hours.2Pediatric Research. Neonatal Adaptation: Sympatho-Adrenal Response to Umbilical Cord Cutting This hormonal cascade is not a sign of suffering. It is what drives the lungs to clear fluid, the heart to redirect blood flow, and the metabolism to shift to independent function. It is a stress response in the biological sense, adaptive and necessary, not a pain response.
That said, babies do cry at birth, and parents sometimes attribute the crying to the cord being cut. The timing is coincidental. The crying is part of that same transition: the sudden exposure to air, temperature change, gravity, and the need to inflate the lungs all contribute. If the cord is cut a few minutes after birth (as is increasingly common with delayed clamping), the baby may have already been crying for some time before anyone touches the cord.
Babies Can Feel Pain, Just Not From This
For much of the twentieth century, medical professionals operated under the assumption that newborns could not feel pain in any meaningful way. Infant surgery was routinely performed with minimal or no anesthesia well into the 1980s.3PubMed. The infancy of infant pain research: the experimental origins of infant pain denial That view has been thoroughly overturned. The evidence now supports that fetuses are likely capable of experiencing pain by roughly 28 to 30 weeks of gestation, based on neurological development and observable responses to invasive procedures.4PubMed. A pain in the fetus: toward ending confusion about fetal pain A more recent review emphasized that consistent patterns of stress hormones, metabolic changes, body movements, and pain-related facial expressions in fetuses exposed to invasive procedures make a compelling case for fetal pain, and that no study has conclusively proven the absence of fetal pain beyond the age of viability.5Karger Publishers (Neonatology). An Evidence-Based Discussion of Fetal Pain and Stress
So newborns absolutely can and do feel pain. Heel pricks, blood draws, injections, and circumcision all register as painful stimuli. The reason cord cutting is different is purely anatomical: the tissue being cut has no nerves to send pain signals. It is not that the baby is incapable of feeling pain. It is that the cord is incapable of generating a pain signal.
Does It Hurt the Mother?
No. The placental side of the cord is similarly devoid of sensory nerve endings. In cases where the mother’s birth partner or support person cuts the cord, they sometimes hesitate out of worry about causing pain. There is nothing to worry about on either side of the clamps. The placenta, like the cord, is fetal tissue designed for nutrient exchange, not sensation. Some parents describe the physical sensation of cutting through the cord as tougher than expected, more like cutting through a thick rubber tube than a piece of string. Experimental testing of human umbilical cords has measured their breaking force at an average of about 80 newtons, with considerable variation depending on the individual cord.6PubMed Central. Experimental studies on the tensile properties of human umbilical cords That resilience is why the surgical scissors used in delivery rooms are sturdy and purpose-built.
Delayed Cord Clamping and Why Timing Matters
While the cut itself is painless regardless of when it happens, the timing of cord clamping has become one of the most studied aspects of newborn care, and it has nothing to do with pain. Delaying the clamp by even one to three minutes after birth lets additional blood transfer from the placenta to the baby, which has measurable benefits.
A large systematic review found that delayed clamping improved iron stores and reduced the risk of anemia in the first six months of life by roughly half compared to early clamping.7JAMA. Late vs Early Clamping of the Umbilical Cord in Full-term Neonates: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Controlled Trials A randomized trial confirmed that babies who had delayed clamping had substantially higher ferritin levels at four months and a dramatically lower rate of iron deficiency, with no increase in complications like jaundice requiring treatment.8BMJ. Effect of delayed versus early umbilical cord clamping on neonatal outcomes and iron status at 4 months: a randomised controlled trial Even late preterm infants benefit: delayed clamping led to higher hemoglobin levels at birth and again at five to six months, with lower rates of anemia.9PubMed Central. The Short and Long Term Consequences of Delayed Cord Clamping on Late Pre-Term Infants
Most major medical organizations now recommend waiting at least 30 to 60 seconds before clamping, and many birth attendants wait longer unless there is a medical reason to intervene sooner. This is a separate conversation from pain, but it matters because parents who are concerned about causing discomfort can be reassured that a delay does not prolong any suffering. The baby feels no pain from the cord at any point.
Cord Milking and Whether That Causes Discomfort
In some births, particularly premature deliveries, providers use a technique called umbilical cord milking. Instead of (or in addition to) waiting for passive blood transfer, they gently squeeze the cord from the placental end toward the baby, pushing residual blood into the infant’s circulation. Parents who witness this sometimes wonder whether the squeezing causes pain.
Again, the cord itself has no sensory nerves, so the milking action does not generate a pain signal in the baby. However, the procedure does cause measurable hemodynamic effects. Research in premature lambs found that each milking stroke caused fluctuations in blood pressure and blood flow to the head, with mean blood pressure rising by roughly 8 to 12 percent per squeeze.10Archives of Disease in Childhood – Fetal and Neonatal Edition. Haemodynamic effects of umbilical cord milking in premature sheep during the neonatal transition These swings are a concern for very premature infants whose blood vessels are fragile, and some guidelines now caution against aggressive milking in the most premature babies. The concern is not pain but the risk of rapid blood pressure changes in vulnerable infants.
Skin-to-Skin Contact as Pain Relief for Other Procedures
While cord cutting is painless, newborns do undergo genuinely painful procedures in their first hours and days: heel sticks for blood screening, vitamin K injections, and sometimes blood draws. One of the simplest and most effective forms of pain relief for these procedures is skin-to-skin contact, where the baby is held bare-chested against a parent’s skin.
A Cochrane review concluded that skin-to-skin contact is effective at reducing pain during single painful procedures in neonates, as measured by composite pain indicators, heart rate, and crying time.11Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Skin-to-skin care for procedural pain in neonates A more recent meta-analysis of 19 studies covering over 1,600 newborns found a large and statistically significant reduction in pain scores with skin-to-skin contact compared to standard care.12Journal de Pediatria. Impact of skin-to-skin contact on acute procedural pain in newborns: a systematic review and meta-analysis Research in preterm infants has documented the biological mechanism: skin-to-skin contact lowers cortisol (the stress hormone), raises oxytocin and beta-endorphin (the body’s natural painkillers), and reduces dopamine levels, all pointing to a genuine calming and analgesic effect.13PubMed Central. Skin-to-skin contact—An effective intervention on pain and stress reduction in preterm infants
If you are a parent worried about your newborn’s comfort, this is where your attention is better spent. The cord cut is a non-event from a pain standpoint. The heel prick that comes later is the one your baby will actually feel, and holding your baby skin-to-skin during it can meaningfully help.
Lotus Birth and Choosing Not to Cut at All
Some parents choose what is called a lotus birth, in which the umbilical cord is never cut. Instead, the cord and attached placenta are left connected to the baby until the cord dries out and detaches on its own, usually within three to ten days. The motivation is often spiritual or philosophical, sometimes rooted in the belief that cutting the cord is traumatic for the baby.
As covered above, the cut is not traumatic in any neurological sense. And lotus birth introduces real risks. The placenta, once delivered, is dead tissue. It begins to decompose, and maintaining sterile conditions around it is extremely difficult. Case reports have documented neonatal omphalitis, an infection of the umbilical stump region, following lotus birth.14PubMed. Neonatal Omphalitis After Lotus Birth A case series from a Tanzanian hospital noted that the risk of neonatal infection increases with the practice and emphasized the need for clear guidance on post-delivery care when families choose it.15PubMed Central. “Do not detach the placenta from my baby’s cord” – Lotus birth case series from Tanzania tertiary hospital An Italian medico-legal analysis concluded that lotus birth is inadvisable from both scientific and practical standpoints, citing hygiene, infection risk, and logistical problems with preserving the placenta.16PubMed Central. Medico-legal considerations on “Lotus Birth” in the Italian legislative framework
If avoiding pain for the baby is the motivation, lotus birth solves a problem that does not exist while creating genuine ones. Delayed cord clamping, which allows the placental blood transfer to complete before cutting, captures any physiological benefit without the infection risk.
When the Cord Area Does Become Sensitive
After the cord is cut, a small stump remains clamped to the baby’s belly. Over the next one to three weeks, it dries, shrivels, and falls off, leaving the navel. During this period, the stump itself remains insensate because it is the same nerve-free tissue as the cord. However, the skin around the base of the stump is normal baby skin and can become irritated if the area is pulled, rubbed by a diaper, or becomes infected.
Signs of a stump infection include redness spreading onto the surrounding skin, foul-smelling discharge, and swelling at the base. This is uncommon with standard dry care (keeping the stump clean and exposed to air), but it does happen. If the cord area around the navel is infected, the baby will feel discomfort because the surrounding abdominal skin has normal sensory innervation. Funisitis, an inflammation of the umbilical cord that occurs before birth in the context of intrauterine infection, involves the migration of immune cells into the cord tissue and is associated with more severe neonatal illness.17PubMed Central. Acute chorioamnionitis and funisitis: definition, pathologic features, and clinical significance Neonates born with funisitis have been found to have lower blood pH and more signs of distress at birth.18PubMed Central. The frequency and risk factors of funisitis and histologic chorioamnionitis in pregnant women at term who delivered after the spontaneous onset of labor These are pre-birth conditions unrelated to the act of cutting, but they illustrate that the tissue environment around the cord can be a site of real pathology even though the cord-cutting moment itself is painless.
The practical takeaway for parents caring for a newborn’s stump: keep it dry, fold the diaper below it so the edge doesn’t rub, and watch for signs of infection at the base. The stump falling off is not painful. Any discomfort in that area after birth comes from the skin, not the cord tissue.