Giving birth to a child who is unresponsive or struggling to breathe is a harrowing experience. The medical team must quickly cut the umbilical cord and then rush the baby to aid. But taking a few seconds to squeeze blood from the cord into an infant’s abdomen before cutting the cord could help with the infant’s recovery, two recent studies suggest.
During fetal development, the umbilical cord brings nutrients from the placenta, which also serves as a reservoir for blood, iron and stem cells (SN: 4/4/18). At birth, the infant is still connected to this reservoir, and the standard recommendation is to wait at least 30 seconds to a minute before clipping that connection, allowing the baby to take in more of those essential nutrients.
Some studies suggest that for healthy babies, delayed cord clamping can improve some aspects of health, such as iron levels or fine motor skills, for months or even years.
For babies born with urgent health problems, however, there’s no time to wait. In these cases, quickly milking the cord might provide similar benefits as delayed cord clamping. But the jury is still out on if or when to use the technique. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, for example, said that there is “insufficient evidence to support or refute umbilical cord milking” in its 2020 guidelines, which the group reaffirmed earlier this year.
2023-07-19 06:00:00
Source from www.sciencenews.org