What is the slow umbilical cord clamp for?

The article was professionally consulted by Dr. Nguyen Anh Tu - Doctor of Obstetric Ultrasound - Prenatal Diagnosis - Obstetrics Department - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

When a baby is born, the umbilical cord is no longer needed and is clamped and cut immediately after birth. However, the slow clamping of the umbilical cord for babies when they are born brings very good benefits to the baby's health such as the baby's higher mobility, positive impact on the baby's brain development, avoiding anemia...

The normal umbilical cord contains up to three blood vessels: 2 arteries and 1 vein. The veins in the umbilical cord carry oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the fetus, while the arteries on the umbilical cord carry oxidized blood, unhealthy waste products (such as carbon dioxide) and other waste products. The blood that has been depleted of nutrients returns to the placenta and the mother's bloodstream.
In addition to providing oxygen and nutrition, the umbilical cord also transmits antibiotics when the mother takes antibiotics into the baby's body.
When the baby is born, the umbilical cord is no longer needed so it will be clamped and cut off to help the baby separate completely from the mother's body. The slow method of clamping the umbilical cord is to wait for the umbilical cord to stop beating, then clamp the umbilical cord and cut it off.
Slow umbilical cord cutting is a trend in obstetrics due to the benefits that it can bring to the baby's health.

Cutting the umbilical cord after birth represents the end of labor and childbirth in pregnant women. The late umbilical cord clamping method 1-3 minutes after birth is increasingly noted and applied by doctors because of the great benefits below.
Greater mobility of the baby: Cutting the umbilical cord immediately after birth deprives a child of an opportunity to receive a full range of natural stem cells that are transferred from the mother's body to the baby. This will make the babies suffer more "disadvantage" than those whose umbilical cord is cut late after birth.
Studies have shown that, although the development of babies is the same, in 4-year-old babies whose umbilical cord is clamped for 3 minutes after birth will have better motor skills than those who cut the cord. navel within 10 seconds of birth. So, there is a high chance that your baby will be healthier by delaying cutting the umbilical cord after birth.
Limit the risk of anemia: After birth, 32% of the baby's blood (equivalent to 1/3 of the blood) will still be in the placenta without bleeding out, so cutting A slow umbilical cord will help the baby receive the necessary amount of blood for the body through the umbilical cord.
Therefore, the baby will be prevented from iron deficiency anemia after birth thanks to the method of cutting the umbilical cord slowly..
The baby is provided with extra iron, preventing mineral deficiency in the body: This amount of blood can provide the child with an additional amount of iron equivalent to 40-50mg/kg of the child's weight, along with the available iron in the body (about 75mg/kg of body weight), this amount of iron is equivalent to the needs of the newborn baby. born in 1-2 months and can help full-term babies prevent iron deficiency anemia in the first years of life, contributing to healthier development of children.
Therefore, mothers can see the importance of delaying cutting the umbilical cord for babies. In addition, infants with delayed cord clamping had an average of 45% higher ferritin levels than babies with early cord clamping.
Positive effects on brain development: With adequate iron intake from the first days of age, the baby will have a healthy nervous system and better development. At the same time, this amount of iron has a positive effect on the baby's brain in the future.
Some American scientists have determined that clamping the umbilical cord about 3 minutes late helps children have a higher IQ than the conventional umbilical cord cutting method.
Better for premature babies: Research by Mercer and CS published in the journal Pediatr (2016) shows that babies born less than 32 weeks preterm can prevent anemia at 6 weeks of age and improve mobility when they are 18 months old by late cutting of the umbilical cord.
Delayed cord clamping also reduces the risk of cerebral hemorrhage and necrotizing enterocolitis in premature babies.
Up to the present time, this method is still being studied for application in reproduction, especially in cases of cesarean section.
However, cutting the umbilical cord early or late after birth will not affect the umbilical cord shedding process or the postpartum umbilical care method for the newborn.

Shortly after birth, the umbilical cord stops beating, the placenta can no longer pass nutrients to the baby, and from the clinical evidence of delayed cord clamping studies after birth, in In 2012, WHO recommended delayed cord clamping (when the cord stops beating or 1-3 minutes after delivery) for all vaginal births to prevent anemia in the baby.
However, early clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord (specifically before 01 minute) for cases of asphyxia requires active resuscitation.
Doctor Nguyen Anh Tu has 6 years of experience in obstetrics and gynecology ultrasound, specially researched and trained in pregnancy ultrasound - prenatal diagnosis. Dr. Tu has completed courses on ultrasound - prenatal diagnosis of the FMF International Fetal Medicine Association; trained in consulting and implementing diagnostic intervention techniques in fetal medicine and participated in many specialized conferences and seminars on Fetal Medicine. Currently, he is a doctor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.