Delayed Cord Clamping

Definition: The severance of the umbilical cord from the placenta after a period of time. While there is no standard definition of time, some suggest that as little as 30-94 seconds could be beneficial, while other practitioners have personal definitions, including waiting until the cord has stopped pulsing.

The benefit is that anemia in the baby could potentially be eliminated or reduced by allowing the baby to receive more cord blood. It also increases the risk of jaundice which may require phototherapy in full term infants.

_{Source
Chaparro CM et al., Effect of timing of umbilical cord clamping on iron status in Mexican infants: a randomized controlled trial, Lancet, 2006, 367(9527):1997-2004.}

_{McDonald SJ, Middleton P. Effect of timing of umbilical cord clamping of term infants on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Apr 16;(2):CD004074.}