I didn't with my last baby, and won't with the one I'm pregnant with. It has nothing to do with being a good idea, I think it's a great idea. I just can't afford the storage.

First of all - Congratulations!! Is this your first? When is the expected due date? You are also building a new home, aren't you? What an exciting time for you.

I am definitely not what you call a pessimist, but for some reason I think this is more about money than anything. One site quoted $2000 for the first year and then almost $600 a year after that. What if you have more than one child? Whew!

I think the odds of your children getting an illness that would require you to access that blood is very, very slim. I think I would rather put that money towards college savings and some good medical insurance.

Another thing to consider is that the cord should be cut 30 to 120 seconds after birth (except in an emergency). That valuable blood supply that is still pulsing thru the cord should be allowed to flow to the baby. Not sure how much would be left to bank after that. I have only seen birth on TV and have never seen them wait to cut the cord.

Yes, my husband and I are building a home and expecting a baby girl on June 9th. (we like to keep ourselves busy)

All he does is talk about how much this forum has helped him so as I am getting nervous about being a first time mom he suggested I join.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I have been doing a lot of reading on cord blood and I just can't make a decision. I know the odds of her needing it are very small but it would kill me if I don't do it and then she does need it. I am sure you would both agree that there is no amount of money you wouldn't spend to save your child's life.

As for the cord blood itself, my doctor told me that it is routine to have the blood donated to the locate cancer center so at least it won't be wasted. If they are not able to get a good enough sample then the cord blood banks only charge you a small fee for the kit. Thanks again!

The April edition of Parent's magazine has a fantastic article about this exact subject. It gave some great information that had never occured to me when we were thinking about it. Essentially, they say it may not be as useful as we have been lead to believe.

That article in Parent's is excellent- see if you can get your hands on it. My take on it was that it is expensive, and much of the cord blood collected is unusable.

My medical group strongly discouraged private cord blood banking, noting that there has not been a single case of a child being saved by their own banked cord blood, and I think the number of sibblings saved by banked cord blood was like 2. The odds of needing cord blood for your child are slim, and the odds that the blood you save will be usable for your child in that rare instance is even smaller.

Q

I was thinking of doing this. I called for the free "kit". After doing some research and speaking with my OB, I decided that it wasn't worth the money (and the risk that it wouldn't be of any use anyway. From my understanding, it's usually not enough for one treatment, much less more).

The worst part was the continued calls from the cord blood banking company. They didn't want to take "No" for an answer. They definitely have some tough telemarketers, I'll tell you !!