Bloodborne has four One Third of Umbilical Cord items: one in the Abandoned Old Workshop, one dropped by Mergo's Wet Nurse, one from Iosefka's Clinic after Rom is dead, and one from Arianna's newborn. Consume any three before Gehrman dies to unlock the secret final boss and the game's third ending. Two of the four are missable, so the order you do things in matters; below is every location, the timing for each, and exactly when to use them.
We checked this against the Fextralife Bloodborne wiki's pages for One Third of Umbilical Cord, Arianna, the endings and the trophy list, plus the game-checklists cord checklist and GosuNoob's location guide, in November 2026.
What the Cords Do and Why You Need Three
Each One Third of Umbilical Cord is a consumable. Using one grants 3 Insight, the largest single Insight gain from any item. More importantly, consuming three of them before the final fight changes how the game ends.
Spoiler warning: the rest of this section names the secret boss and ending.
If you have consumed three cords when you refuse Gehrman's offer and defeat him, the Moon Presence descends and you fight it as an extra final boss. Winning earns the Childhood's Beginning ending and its gold trophy. Consume fewer than three and the same refusal leads instead to the Honoring Wishes ending. The full breakdown of all three outcomes is in our Bloodborne endings guide.
Because you only need three of four, you have one spare. That buffer is valuable: two of the cords can be lost permanently on a playthrough if you do things in the wrong order, but missing one of them still leaves you on track.
Cord 1: The Abandoned Old Workshop
This is the safest of the four. It lies on the ground inside the Abandoned Old Workshop, a hidden area that you reach from the Healing Church Workshop area in Cathedral Ward. The route involves dropping down the inside of a tower; the Fextralife trophy notes place the hidden door in the tower's lower section and warn you not to jump all the way to the bottom.
- Missable: no. The checklist lists it as available at any time.
- Bonus: reaching this area also unlocks The Source of the Dream silver trophy and grants 2 Insight on discovery.
Grab it whenever you are in Cathedral Ward with time to spare. It is the one cord you never have to worry about.
Cord 2: Mergo's Wet Nurse
Mergo's Wet Nurse drops a cord when you defeat her. She is the boss at the end of the Nightmare of Mensis, and the nearest lamp afterward is the Wet Nurse's Lunarium.
You cannot skip her, because she is the last major boss before the ending sequence. Defeating her is what sets up the final conversation with Gehrman in the Hunter's Dream, so this cord effectively arrives right before you need to use all three. That timing is important: it means you should already have two others in your inventory by the time you reach her.
Some guides recommend constant movement and carrying Molotov Cocktails for this fight. However you approach it, bank your echoes first, since she is a tough wall late in the game.
Cord 3: Iosefka's Clinic (Missable)
The third cord is tied to the woman you find at Iosefka's Clinic later in the game. You must reach the clinic's upper floor through its back entrance, which is accessed from the Forbidden Woods, and kill her there.
- Defeat Rom, the Vacuous Spider first. This is the key condition. GosuNoob warns that killing her before Rom gives you a Caryll Rune instead, and the cord is lost.
- Enter through the Forbidden Woods side. The route crosses a poisonous lake in a cave near the woods' small village, then climbs over the rooftops into the clinic. The wiki names the nearby lamp 1st Floor Sickroom.
- Kill her in the upstairs room. She drops the cord.
If you did kill her early on a previous visit, do not panic. With the Workshop cord and Mergo's Wet Nurse both locked in, you still need only one of the two missable cords.
Cord 4: Arianna's Newborn (Missable)
The final cord depends on a chain of choices with Arianna, a woman who lives behind a door in lower Cathedral Ward.
- Find her early. She will not ask for sanctuary until you have defeated at least one boss from Cathedral Ward, Old Yharnam, Hemwick Charnel Lane or Yahar'gul. The wiki advises speaking to her before the Blood Moon, after which she no longer answers.
- Send her to Oedon Chapel, not Iosefka's Clinic. Sending her to the clinic means you cannot get the cord from her infant.
- Protect her. At the chapel, Adella the Nun may grow jealous and kill her if you accept Arianna's blood three times while Adella is there. Not accepting the blood avoids the problem.
- Find her after Micolash. Once you defeat Micolash, Host of the Nightmare, she leaves the chapel and can be found in the area below the Cathedral Ward starting point, between the Tomb of Oedon and Cathedral Ward lamps, with her newborn.
- Kill the newborn. The wiki notes that killing it also kills Arianna, and that it yields the cord along with Arianna's Shoes.
Sources differ slightly on the trigger here. One checklist says to deal with the baby after Rom, while the Fextralife wiki and GosuNoob both tie the move to Micolash's defeat. We follow the latter, since it matches the in-game sequence most players report. Seeing Arianna's infant also grants 3 Insight, which our guide to Insight lists among the game's bigger one-time gains.
A Single Route That Collects All Four
Putting the conditions in story order makes it easy to finish a playthrough holding every cord. This is the sequence we suggest:
- Early Cathedral Ward: after your first eligible boss, knock on Arianna's door and point her toward Oedon Chapel. Do this well before Rom.
- Whenever you explore the Healing Church Workshop tower: drop carefully to the hidden door and pick up the Workshop cord.
- Before Rom: stay away from Iosefka's Clinic back entrance, or at least do not attack anyone inside, because an early kill swaps the cord for a rune.
- After Rom: with the Blood Moon up, return to the clinic through the Forbidden Woods and collect the Iosefka cord.
- After Micolash: head down from the Cathedral Ward lamp to find Arianna and her newborn.
- Nightmare of Mensis: defeat Mergo's Wet Nurse for the last one.
If you are also following Eileen's questline, fit her Tomb of Oedon fight in before your first step into the Forbidden Woods, which you pass through on the way to Rom. Entering the woods first ends her story.
Almost every lost cord, meanwhile, comes down to one of four slips:
- Sending Arianna to the clinic because it seemed safer. The chapel is the only choice that keeps her newborn's cord available.
- Accepting Arianna's blood repeatedly while Adella is in the chapel, which can lead to Adella killing her.
- Waiting too long to talk to Arianna at all. Once the Blood Moon rises, she stops responding.
- Attacking the woman at Iosefka's Clinic on an early visit through the woods.
If one of these has already happened, finish the other three and carry on. The game's design leaves room for exactly one mistake.
When and How to Use Them
Timing is more flexible than many players fear. The wiki's endings page says you need to consume three before Gehrman dies, and you can even use them after losing to Gehrman or during his fight, as long as he is still alive.
A clean approach for a first playthrough:
- Collect without eating. Pick up each cord and keep it in your inventory until after Mergo's Wet Nurse. That keeps your options open and keeps your Insight lower in the meantime, which helps with Frenzy.
- Back up your save. Before speaking to Gehrman, upload your save to cloud storage or copy it to USB. The game moves to New Game+ after the credits regardless of which ending you pick.
- Consume three, then talk to him. Refuse his offer, defeat him, and the Moon Presence fight begins.
Since the Childhood's Beginning, Honoring Wishes and Yharnam Sunrise trophies all come from this one conversation, the backup trick is how players collect all three endings without three full playthroughs. Our Bloodborne trophy guide explains that route in full, and if you plan to take Eileen's questline along the way, our Eileen the Crow walkthrough shows how its timing overlaps with Arianna's.
Want the Ending Trophies Without the Run?
If you would rather not track down missable cords and replay the ending sequence for each trophy, the store's Bloodborne Platinum trophy service covers all 20 bronze, 7 silver and 6 gold trophies plus the Platinum on PS4 or PS5, with a choice of realistic spaced timestamps or instant ones. Its page notes the counts reflect the standard trophy list and that DLC-only trophies require the matching DLC. More Bloodborne services are on the Bloodborne page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many umbilical cords are in Bloodborne?
Four One Third of Umbilical Cord items exist in a playthrough. You need three for the secret ending.
Which umbilical cords are missable?
The one from Iosefka's Clinic and the one from Arianna's newborn. The Workshop and Mergo's Wet Nurse cords cannot be missed.
When should I eat the umbilical cords?
Any time before Gehrman dies. Many players wait until after Mergo's Wet Nurse so they can decide on an ending at the last moment.
Do I need all four umbilical cords?
No. Three is the requirement, so the fourth is a spare that protects you if one of the missable cords slips away.
I killed Iosefka early. Can I still get the true ending?
Yes, as long as you still get Arianna's cord. The Workshop and Wet Nurse cords plus Arianna's make three.
How much Insight does an umbilical cord give?
Each One Third of Umbilical Cord grants 3 Insight when used.