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Doctors Warn of Dangers When Using Knit Umbilical Ties

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knit umbilical cord tiesHere’s a knitting trend I hadn’t heard of before, but apparently in Australia (I’ve seen reports of their use in the UK, too) a rising number of women who participate in home births or have midwives are using knit umbilical ties instead of the clamps offered by hospitals.

The idea is that the handmade ties are less obtrusive, potentially less painful and a lot cuter than clamps used to hold the cord until it heals. But doctors say the trend is dangerous because the cords can’t be kept sterile and thus provide lots of potential for infection as they get wet and soiled when baby’s diapers are changed.

Though a mom quoted in that story from the Courier Mail says there are patterns “all over social media,” I didn’t find any patterns for the items on Ravelry. I did find a place in the UK that sells them, however.

Is this trend something you’ve heard about? Have you or would you use a knit umbilical cord tie? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo by Emma Jean Photography, via Courier Mail.]

Comments

  1. GICK! That makes me sick to look at it!

    So unsanitary, potential for infection, just nasty.

    People are crazy, and not in a good way…

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.