Benefits of waiting 3 minutes to cut the umbilical cord 2026

Waiting at least three minutes to cut the umbilical cord after birth is associated with a decreased risk of anemia in newborn babies, according to a study in Nepal. Previous studies had suggested that cord cutting could reduce the chances of iron deficiency in babies by transferring iron-rich blood from the placenta.

A team analyzed data from 540 babies in whom, at random, they had waited 3 minutes from birth or had it done during the first minute of life. At eight months, delayed umbilical cord cutting had reduced the babies' risk of developing anemia by 11% and iron deficiency by 42%, compared with the early cutting technique, the team reports in JAMA Pediatrics.

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"If the blockage (cutting) is early, the baby does not receive its blood that is still in the placenta," said lead author Dr. Ola Andersson, a researcher specializing in pediatrics at Uppsala University in Sweden. "That extra blood could protect the baby from anemia and iron deficiency in the first year of life," she added.

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Lack of iron

Iron deficiency is the most common disorder, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), especially in developing countries. It is also the only widespread nutritional deficiency in industrialized countries. About 2 billion people in the world are anemic, mainly due to iron deficiency. In the developing world, the risk is combined with various infections caused by iron deficiency, such as malaria, HIV, and hookworm.

For Andersson, "clinical guidelines should be modified to delay umbilical cord blockage in more babies."

The WHO recommends waiting at least a minute to do it, while the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises delaying it between 30 and 60 seconds. In the study, the delayed cut was made no earlier than 192 seconds after delivery and the early cut was made no later than 32 seconds.

Despite the study's limitations, widespread use of this intervention could result in 5 million fewer babies with anemia by eight months of age. The greatest benefit would be seen in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where prevalence is highest.

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Source: Scientificamerican.com

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