Impact of umbilical cord clamping time on infant anemia

Iron deficiency anemia is a common health problem in the world and in Turkey. This study was conducted between December 2017 and December 2018 at Ege University Faculty of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in order to determine the effect of umbilical cord clamping time on infant anemia. This study is a experimental, randomized controlled and prospective study. The sample of the study consisted of 65 pregnant women and newborns (intervention=32, control=33) who applied for delivery at Ege University Medical Faculty Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic at the time of the study. In this study, Descriptive Data Form of Impact of Umbilical Cord Clamping Time on Infant Anemia was used as data collection tool. In the intervention group waited 60 seconds for umbilical cord clamping in the second stage of labor, in the control group the umbilical cord was clamped in the first 15 seconds. For the data of the first stage of the study, the neonatal hematocrit and bilirubin measurements and the need for phototherapy due to hyperbilirubinemia were evaluated 48 hours after birth. In the second stage of the study, data on anemia screening performed in family medicine at the end of the fourth month of birth were examined. Statistical analysis of the data from the study was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 package program. Parametric tests were used for statistical analysis of the data with normal distribution. The level of statistical significance was determined as p<0.05. In the first part of the study, hematocrit and bilirubin levels of delayed clamping newborns were significantly higher than those of early-clamped newborns (p=0.000, p=0.041, respectively). There was no significant difference between neonates in the intervention and control groups in terms of phototherapy requirement due to hyperbilirubinemia in the postpartum period (p=0.948). In the anemia screening performed at the fourth postpartum month, the hematocrit and hemoglobin levels of the intervention group were found to be higher than those control group (p=0.050, p=0.006, respectively). No statistically significant difference was found between the infants in the intervention and control groups in terms of the diagnosis of anemia (p=0.629). In this study, it was concluded that umbilical cord clamping time had a positive effect on the hematological parameters of the baby. In the third stage of labor, clamping of the umbilical cord 60 seconds later is recommended to prevent iron deficiency in infants during the first year childhood.