Watch CBS News

Data Shows Waiting To Cut Umbilical Cord Could Benefit Babies

BOSTON (CBS) – The umbilical cord connects a baby to its placenta, which is rich in blood and nutrients. In most cases, the cord is cut within seconds of delivery, but new data suggests that some babies might do better if that connection to the placenta isn't severed quite so fast.

Not even one day old, Sophia Andalepe had an uneventful birth at Beth Israel Deaconess.

"The whole experience has been great," Sophia's mother, Shadi Akhtari told WBZ-TV.

Sophia's umbilical cord was severed right after birth. But a new study suggests that full-term babies whose umbilical cords are left intact for at least 3 minutes might develop better social and fine motor skills by the age of 4. The benefit was only seen in boys.

Dr. Toni Golen, an OB/GYN at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said doctors been doing delayed cord clamping for premature babies for some time now.

"There is a benefit for smaller babies, preterm babies between 26 to 33 weeks," said Golen.  "If we delay cord clamping, it improves outcomes for those babies."

For full-term babies, Golen said the benefits aren't quite as clear, and there may be some risks.

"In a full-term baby, there is a concern that they might actually get too much blood into their system," explained Golen.

That could lead to clots and other complications, and there may be an emotional downside for mom.

If you delay clamping of the cord, the baby can't be placed immediately on the mother's chest after birth.

"It's very important for a lot of people to hold the baby right away. And to delay that might be odd for some moms," Golen said.

Golen added that she's willing to consider the practice for some, but that it shouldn't be offered to everyone quite yet.

"We just don't know that for all babies it's best practice," Golen concluded.

It's unclear why the benefit in this one study was seen only among boys.

The study was small and conducted in Sweden, so Dr. Golen said it will be interesting to see if the results hold true at hospitals in the United States and with a larger number of births studied.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.