Delayed Cord Clamping May Reduce Brain Bleeds in Preemies
Monday, March 31, 2008 13:12Dr. Judy Mercer, a nurse midwife at the University of Rhode Island has already shown that a very small change in delivery practices, delaying 30-40 seconds before clamping the umbilical cord, might reduce both intraventricular hemorrhages and sepsis in extremely preterm infants.
Her original study looked at 72 infants born before 32 weeks gestation, and compared immediate cord clamping (within 5-10 seconds of delivery) with delayed cord clamping at 30-45 seconds after birth. This small study showed that there were less cases of brain bleeds and infections in the NICU among the preemie boys who had delayed cord clamping. Babies whose cords were clamped later also tended to have higher red blood cell counts after delivery.
Despite these positive results, there is no standard for the timing of cord clamping in preterm deliveries. This might change after a larger follow-up study is performed, which will compare immediate and delayed cord clamping in 200 preemies. Hopes are that this study will show a statistically significant benefit to delayed cord clamping, as well as giving some clue to why it is beneficial.
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