Go with the flow: a comparison of early and delayed umbilical cord clamping
- Salter, Charlotte
The most suitable time to clamp and cut the umbilical cord after delivery has been questioned for many years; however an answer has not been reached (). Researchers, midwives, obstetricians and neonatologists have debated the optimum timing of umbilical cord clamping for decades.
Thehas changed its guidance and now suggests the umbilical cord should be left unclamped for at least one minute after delivery in an uncompromised infant, as this improves iron status of term infants during early infancy. Umbilical cord clamping should be delayed for up to three minutes in preterm infants as increased blood pressure, fewer blood transfusions and a reduced risk of intraventricular haemorrhage can result.
Clamping and cutting the cord immediately after delivery has been shown to interrupt the normal physiological process of placental transfusion and separation; this can lead to complications in the mother and deprives the baby of cord blood. We have been disrupting this process since the 17th century, so why does this practice still continue when we know there is a better alternative?
The following article, exploring this issue, is from a dissertation undertaken during midwifery training at Anglia Ruskin University.