Background and Objective: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) serves as a vital source of stem cells for transplantation. While immediate umbilical cord (UC) clamping has been the conventional practice, delaying UC clamping is increasingly recommended to mitigate the risk of infant anemia. This study aimed to explore an intermediate UC clamping duration and assess iron status in 4-month-old infants who underwent UC clamping at 60 seconds, contrasting these outcomes with immediate and late UC clamping.
Design: This research employed a prospective observational study design, incorporating two historical control groups for comparative analysis.
Setting: The study was conducted within a university hospital located in Stockholm, Sweden, and a county hospital situated in Halland, Sweden, ensuring diverse observational settings.
Methods: Iron status evaluations were performed at 4 months of age in 200 term infants prospectively enrolled. In these cases, UC clamping was performed 60 seconds post-birth. For the initial 30 seconds, the newborn was held below the uterine level, followed by placing the infant on the mother’s abdomen for an additional 30 seconds before clamping. The findings were then juxtaposed with data from a prior randomized controlled trial. This trial included infants subjected to UC clamping at ≤10 seconds (n=200) or ≥180 seconds (n=200) after delivery, providing a comprehensive comparative framework.
Results: After accounting for age variations at the time of follow-up assessments, serum ferritin concentrations demonstrated significant differences across the groups. The 10-second clamping group exhibited concentrations of 77 µg/L, while the 60-second group showed 103 µg/L, and the 180-second group reached 114 µg/L. Notably, the adjusted ferritin concentration in the 60-second group was significantly elevated compared to the 10-second group (P=0.002). However, the disparity between the 60-second and 180-second groups did not reach statistical significance (P=0.29). These results effectively showcase Comparing Stores of iron in infants based on different clamping protocols.
Conclusion: This investigation into healthy term infants reveals that a 60-second UC clamping protocol, incorporating a 30-second period of lowering the baby below the uterine level, leads to enhanced serum ferritin concentrations at 4 months when comparing stores to the 10-second UC clamping approach. The evidence suggests that extending the UC clamping duration to 60 seconds effectively diminishes the likelihood of iron deficiency in infants.
Trial registration number: NCT01245296.
