Late umbilical cord clamping, neonatal hematocrit and Apgar scores: a randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

Based on current evidence, there is a little agreement on the best timing for after birth umbilical cord clamping. This study was designed to compare the impact of using two different times for cord clamping on hematocrit concentration and Apgar scores of the neonate. Fifty-six healthy full-term vaginally born neonates were allocated to early (10 seconds after delivery) and late (3 minutes after delivery) umbilical cord clamping groups in this randomized clinical trial. We recorded the length of the 3rd stage of labor and Apgar score at 5 minutes. Infant's hematocrit was measured at 2 and 18 hours of age. Neonatal hematocrit differed between the two groups. Late cord clamping group had greater hematocrit at 2 hours (45.5 ± 4 vs. 49.5 ± 4.4, P = 0.0003) and 18 hours (47.7 ± 5.5 vs. 52.9 ± 4.3, P = 0.0002). Apgar scores at 5 minutes (9.3 ± 0.6 vs. 9.4 ± 0.6, p = 0.5) and duration of delivery 3rd stage (10.2 ± 3.7 min vs. 8.9 ± 5 min, P = 0.2) did not differ between early and late cord clamping groups respectively. Late cord clamping leads to a significant increase in the hematocrit of the neonate but it does not have effects on Apgar score and duration of the 3rd stage of labor.