News

Delay cord cutting to help premature babies

A team of researchers from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals have said that waiting up to two minutes to cut the umbilical cord after a premature baby is born could reduce the risk of bleeding on the brain.

Currently, around half of maternity units in the UK do wait but others will clamp and cut the cord within seconds of birth, usually due to the urgency of removing the baby to the special care unit.

The team reviewed seven studies of 297 babies which measured blood pressure, red blood cell counts, blood volume, bleeding within the brain and the need for transfusions. They found that between 60 and 80 per cent of babies born before 32 weeks needed a blood transfusion.

The researchers say reducing the chances of bleeding in the newborn's brain cuts the need for transfusions and also reduces anaemia, increases blood pressure and blood volume, and gives premature babies a healthier start in life.

There are no formal guidelines in the UK for when the cord should be cut but the neonatologist who carried out the research, Dr Heike Rabe, told BBC news, "A slight delay in cord clamping of preterm infants is good for their subsequent health.

"It is cheap, leading to no extra cost. The optimal timing is not known yet and needs to be assessed by further studies. Funding needs to be available to perform this clinical research."

She added, "If the cord is left unclamped for a short time after the birth, some of the baby's blood from the placenta passes to the baby to help the flow of blood to the baby's lungs.

"Delaying cord clamping for just a very short time helped the babies to adjust to their new surroundings better."

However, another neonatologist, Dr Tonse Raju, says that docotrs must use their judgement in each case.

He said that delaying clamping too long can send too many red blood cells into the baby's system which can make the blood too thick, stressing the heart and respiration, and possibly triggering jaundice or brain damage.

He also said that the trials covered in the review offered little guidance about how respiration is affected by the time spent before cord clamping.

He added, "At least there was no negative effect on babies' breathing after delaying the clamping of the cord."

• Do you know how much time was left before clamping your baby's cord? Share your experiences in Discuss, Debate and Deliberate
• Find out more about premature birth in Born Too Soon