Benefits Of Delayed Cord Clamping

The timing of newborn cord clamping is an area of interest in nursing. For many years Obstetricians have been clamping the umbilical cord as soon as the baby is born; however, new evidence is arising showing delayed cord clamping to be beneficial to preterm and term newborns. Evidence has shown that delayed cord clamping has been proven beneficial to newborns, but many facilities and practitioners have not successfully adopted it. Studies show that organizations have had little success in changing a provider’s conduct to incorporate evidence-based research into their practice (Leslie, Wrickson-Owens, & Cseh, 2015). Additional research is needed to educate and customize a delayed cord clamping policy to present to stakeholders so implementation
Increased ferritin levels by DCC have shown to marginally increase the need of neonatal phototherapy, but the occurrence of clinical jaundice was not noteworthy (Tillett, 2013). Fifteen trials were conducted which included 3,911 women and infant pairs. The study showed no significant differences between early and delayed cord clamping on the outcome of neonatal mortality or severe postpartum hemorrhage risks; however, DCC transfusion did show benefits of providing 30% more blood volume, 60% more red blood cells and improved iron stores up to 6months after birth (Mcdonald, Middleton, Dowswell, & Morris, 2014). DCC shows an increase in erythrocytes. The increase in erythrocytes also show an increase in the total antioxidant capacity and decrease in the inflammatory-mediated effects induced during the delivery, decrease in respiratory distress, anemia, mental retardation, and cerebral palsy (Castro et al, 2014). According to Downey and Bewley, “Delaying clamping in preterm infants decreases the need for blood transfusion, which has been associated with neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis and death in term infants”. Delayed clamping improves oxygen transport and red blood cell flow in
All deliveries were vaginal with no health risks to the mother or newborn. The reason that some chose immediate cord clamping versus delayed cord clamping was due to unfamiliarity, not being educated about all the benefits, and apprehension of not being able to resuscitate with the cord intact. More research is needed to provide EBP research to the hospitals and staff to educate them on the benefits of delayed cord clamping to the newborn compared to immediate clamping of the cord. The research done will help provide evidence that resuscitation can be achieved with delayed cord clamping. More research needs to be conducted so proper time of delayed cord clamping can be recorded. This also allows a set system of guidelines that are the same and the procedure followed would be strategic. EBP research has shown that delayed cord clamping can be done on pre-term, term babies, and babies that may need resuscitated. The delivery rooms can be set up and ready in case resuscitation or phototherapy is needed. If a provider does not want to wait due to resuscitation or other issues, milking the cord can provide the neonate with the extra blood from the cord in a shorter amount of time. A hospital wide policy needs to be constructed and set in place so that every obstetrician/provider in the