A hand-held manual surgical instrument designed specifically to cut the umbilical cord after birth. It comprises two pivoted blades that are usually provided with a finger and thumb ring-handle and which cut with a shearing action (i.e., the blades cut as the sharpened edges pass one another as they are closed). It is metallic and is available in various designs and sizes; the blades can have a variety of sizes and designs, e.g., curved, acutely angled at the tip, or have flat opposing moon shapes, and may be serrated. This is a single-use device.