Cord blood sampling has no effect on the pregnant mother and the newborn, rather there may be great benefits for the child later on.
At present, most parents do not know much about cord blood and have great doubts that it may harm the health of the pregnant mother and the fetus. Cord blood, the fresh blood drawn from inside the umbilical cord and placenta just after the child is delivered and born and after the umbilical cord is ligated. The extraction is done at the umbilical cord ligation, i.e. not from the fetus, nor from the mother, and therefore does not directly damage the mother or the newborn.
Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells that can rebuild the body’s hematopoietic and immune systems, and since the beginning of cord blood therapy in 1998, it has been shown to cure a variety of leukemias, aplastic anemia, myeloma, neuroblastoma, and more than 80 other diseases.
So taking preserved cord blood is a potentially beneficial measure for the child as well as the mother, and if the child later develops a disease that may only be cured using hematopoietic stem cells, preserved cord blood in advance is a very safe and forward-looking measure. However, it is more expensive, so the decision needs to be made in the context of your own situation.