Effects of Delayed and Early Cord Clamping in Term Babies: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Delayed cord clamping is recommended in current guidelines. However, due to traditional practices, it has not been adopted sufficiently yet. This study was planned to evaluate its effects on mother-baby health. This was a single-center, randomized controlled trial. A computer-based table of random numbers was used to allocate treatments. The study groups were compared in terms of hypothermia, cord blood gas, hematocrit, frequency of polycythemia, phototherapy requirements at birth, iron deficiency anemia at the fourth-month follow-up. The mean of early cord clamping time was 9.34 ± 4.91 seconds, and the mean of delayed cord clamping time was 106.48 ± 51.86 seconds. In the fourth-month follow-up, ferritin level and percentile mean of head circumference were significantly higher in the delayed cord clamping group. The results of this study support that delayed cord clamping does not pose a risk of hypothermia, polycythemia, and hyperbilirubinemia and also protects against iron-deficiency anemia.