Timing of Cord Clamping and Neonatal Hemoglobin

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the timing of the clamping of the umbilical cord after delivery has an impact on neonatal hemoglobin and hematocrit, tests that determine the number of red cells in the blood and their ability to carry oxygen. The study hypothesis is that delaying cord clamping until cord pulsation has ceased will increase the neonatal blood volume and thereby increase the hemoglobin and hematocrit. We propose to recruit 150 women who present for vaginal delivery at Tulsa Regional Medical Center. Half of the women will be randomly assigned to the immediate clamping group, which will entail clamping of the umbilical cord within six seconds of delivery of the fetal shoulders. The other half of the volunteers will be assigned to the delayed clamping group, which will entail clamping the cord after a palpable pulse has ceased, or after 10 minutes. The infants of mothers in both groups will have blood drawn for a hemoglobin and hematocrit at the time of the routine PKU heel stick, usually is performed within 18-24 hours of delivery. Statistical differences between the blood counts of infants in the control and study groups will be compared using independent samples t tests.