Delayed umbilical cord clamping results in better iron status for the infant than does immediate clamping, a BMJ study concludes.

Some 350 full-term, low-risk infants in Sweden were randomized either to immediate clamping (within 10 seconds after birth) or to delayed clamping (3 minutes or more). At age 4 months, hemoglobin levels in both groups of infants were similar, but the delayed-clamping group had a higher mean ferritin level (117 vs. 81 micrograms per liter) and a lower prevalence of iron deficiency (0.6% vs. 5.7%).

The researchers calculate that delayed cord clamping of 20 infants would prevent one case of iron deficiency.

An editorialist reminds readers that delayed clamping allows “placental transfusion,” which increases the total blood volume by almost a third. He concludes that the study “is convincing enough to encourage a change of practice.”

Source:BMJ