Is early cord clamping, delayed cord clamping or cord milking best?

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the antioxidant status of three cord clamping procedures (early clamping, delayed clamping and milking) by analyzing the thiol–disulfide balance.

Patients and methods: This randomized controlled study enrolled 189 term infants who were divided into three groups according to the cord clamping procedure: early clamping, delayed clamping and milking. Blood samples were collected from the umbilical arteries immediately after clamping, and the thiol/disulfide homeostasis was analyzed.

Results: The native and total thiol levels were significantly (p < .05) lower in the early cord clamping group compared with the other two groups. The disulfide/total thiol ratio was significantly (p = .026) lower in the delayed cord clamping and milking groups compared with the early clamping groups. Early cord clamping causes the production of more disulfide bonds and lower thiol levels, indicating that oxidation reactions are increased in the early cord clamping procedure compared with the delayed cord clamping and milking procedures.

Conclusion: The oxidant capacity is greater with early cord clamping than with delayed clamping or cord milking. Delayed cord clamping or milking are beneficial in neonatal care, and we suggest that they be performed routinely in all deliveries.

Keywords:

• Cord clamping
• milking
• thiol
• disulphide
• oxidant status
• antioxidant status

Acknowledgements

We thank to Chiesi Scientific Network for unconditioned support by the statistical analysis of the study.

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

Disclosure statement

The authors no conflict of interests relevant to this article to disclose.