Delayed clamping of the umbilical cord is recommended for term and preterm infants who do not require resuscitation. However, the approach to the newly born infant with signs of fetal compromise, prematurity and extremely low birthweight, or prolonged apnea is less clear. Human and experimental animal data show that delaying the clamping of the umbilical cord until after the onset of respiratio...

Immediate clamping of the umbilical cord can reduce the red blood cells an infant receives at birth by more than 50%, resulting in potential short-term and long-term neonatal problems. Cord clamping studies from 1980 to 2001 were reviewed. Five hundred thirty-one term infants in the nine identified randomized and nonrandomized studies experienced late clamping, ranging from 3 minutes to cessati...

OBJECTIVE With the introduction of active management of the third stage of labour in the 1960s, it became usual practice to clamp and cut the umbilical cord immediately following birth. The timing of this cord clamping is controversial, as blood may beneficially be transferred to the baby if clamping of the cord is delayed slightly. There is no agreement, however, on how long the delay should b...

A newborn who receives a placental transfusion at birth, either from cord milking or delayed cord clamping, obtains about 30% more blood volume than the newborn whose cord is cut immediately. Receiving an adequate blood volume from placental transfusion at birth may be protective for the distressed neonate as it prevents hypovolemia and can support optimal perfusion to all organs. New research ...

BACKGROUND Delayed clamping of the umbilical cord increases the infant's iron endowment at birth and haemoglobin concentration at 2 months of age. We aimed to assess whether a 2-minute delay in the clamping of the umbilical cord of normal-weight, full-term infants improved iron and haematological status up to 6 months of age. METHODS 476 mother-infant pairs were recruited at a large obstetric...

OBJECTIVE The comparative risks and benefits of early compared with delayed cord clamping in the preterm neonate remain unclear. Our objective was to evaluate the short-term effects of delayed clamping of the umbilical cord in preterm neonates. METHODS We conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing immediate with delayed cord clamping among preterm neonates born between 24 and 34 weeks ...

There are many potential benefits of delayed or deferred cord clamping (DCC) compared with immediate cord clamping (ICC). Increasing placental transfusion by DCC increases neonatal blood volume and improves transitional hemodynamics. DCC may also increase iron stores, reducing childhood anemia and increasing the transfer of stem cells, which may have antiinflammatory neurotropic and neuroprotec...