Long-Term Outcomes Similar for Cord Clamping, Umbilical Cord Milking

TUESDAY, July 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For nonvigorous term and near-term infants, long-term outcomes do not differ significantly with early cord clamping (ECC) and umbilical cord milking (UCM), according to a study published online July 1 in JAMA Network Open.

Anup C. Katheria, M.D., from the Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns in San Diego, and colleagues examined the two-year outcomes of infants randomly assigned to receive UCM or ECC at birth in a secondary analysis of a trial that took place in 10 medical centers. A total of 1,730 near-term and full-term infants born at 35 to 42 weeks of gestation who were nonvigorous were included in the primary trial. Long-term outcomes were assessed in 971 children who had Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 3rd Edition (ASQ-3) scores available at age 2 years or died before age 2 years and for 927 children with Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised/Follow-Up (M-CHAT-R/F) questionnaire scores or who died before age 2 years.

The researchers found that maternal and neonatal characteristics were similar by treatment group. The median ASQ-3 scores were similar in the UCM and ECC groups (255 versus 255), with no significant differences in the subdomains of ASQ-3. Similar scores were also seen for medium- to high-risk M-CHAT-R/F scores (9 versus 8 percent for UCM and ECC).

“Considering the important previously reported short-term benefits of UCM to enhance placental transfusion, our study adds further support to this safe, facile, zero-cost intervention as a preferable practice compared with ECC,” the authors write.

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