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Umbilical cord clamping at birth--practice in Norwegian maternity wards
Background:
The timing and practice used for umbilical cord clamping of neonates are controversial internationally as well as in Norway. We therefore wished to investigate routines and practices for umbilical cord clamping of neonates in Norway.
Material And Method:
A web-based questionnaire was sent to heads of departments of all maternity wards in Norway (n = 52). They were asked about their practice with regard to umbilical cord clamping of neonates and whether written routines had been prepared for this purpose. We defined early umbilical cord clamping as immediate or within 30 seconds and late clamping as ≥ 1 minute or not until pulsation in the umbilical cord had ceased.
Results:
Fifty (96%) of the maternity institutions returned a completed questionnaire. Twelve institutions (24%) reported to clamp the umbilical cord of full-term neonates early, and 38 (76%) reported to practise late clamping. Nineteen maternity wards (38%) followed written routines for umbilical cord clamping of full-term neonates, and among these, early umbilical cord clamping was practised in nine (47%). In the 31 maternity wards that had no written routines, early umbilical cord clamping was practised in three (10%). Twenty-seven of the maternity wards reported that the child is placed on the maternal abdomen before clamping of the umbilical cord, 14 reported that the child commonly is held below the introitus before umbilical cord clamping, and the rest did not report any consistent practice.
Interpretation:
There is wide variation in the practice for umbilical cord clamping in Norwegian maternity wards, many of which have no written guidelines. We argue that national guidelines for umbilical cord clamping of neonates should be established.
