UMEA University Logo Cutting of the umbilical cord is one of the principal actions in the process of delivering a baby. Often, they are immediately cut as soon the baby is born. With respect to this action, professionals at the Umea University have revealed that healthy newborn babies may be exposed to fewer chances of experiencing iron deficiency if the umbilical cord is cut after a span of 3 minutes during birth.

Iron deficiency is a major health problem for children, which seemingly leads to weak neurodevelopment. In nations like Africa and South America, iron deficiency is highly incident and infants there seemed to benefit from this procedure of delayed clamping. However, the team was unclear if these results could be replicated in other well-nourished countries like Sweden.

In this trial, 400 babies were tested, some whose umbilical cord was cut in 10 seconds following delivery and others whose cords were cut after 3 minutes. Associate Professor Magnus Domellöf, at Umea University’s Department of Clinical Sciences, paediatrics unit, was the lead author of the study.

As per the outcomes, babies whose umbilical cord was clamped after a minimum of 3 minutes appeared to have higher iron proportions when they were 4 months old. Notably, there were presumably no side-effects of delayed clamping.

The scientists believed that for every 20 babies exposed to delayed clamping of cords, one instance of iron deficiency could be prohibited. Babies with delayed clamping possibly showed fewer signs of neonatal anaemia too. The analysts concluded that delayed cord clamping ought to be considered a standard for full term deliveries which are devoid of other complications.

The study is published in the British Medical Journal.