Cord clamping

Hello

Does anyone know any benefit (or harm) of delayed cord clamping in babies?

I know there are health benefits, but if the thalassaemia status of baby is unknown (i.e. both parents carriers and amnio/cvs testing not done prenatally), is delayed cord clamping potentially harmful to a potential thal disease baby? i.e. iron overload at birth?

Many thanks
Saima

Saima,

When cord clamping is delayed, it results in a higher Hb level. If a newborn was a thal major, this would most likely lead to a delay in when the first transfusion had to take place. If even one unit of transfused blood was skipped, there would be a net gain in terms of avoiding iron, as there is an additional 25-50 mg iron obtained from the cord blood (iron which the baby needs to grow properly), and this is far less than found in one unit of blood. Delaying cord clamping will result in more good red cells which contain fetal hemoglobin being available to the baby during its first six months. Iron deficiency in infants is common and I believe immediate cord clamping is a major contributor to this. The baby can definitely use the extra blood it will receive if the cord is not clamped immediately.