Intact Cord Placental Delivery vs Delayed Cord Clamping

Overview

The management of the third stage of labour plays a critical role in neonatal transition. Uninterrupted Intact Cord Clamping (UICC), is a clinical approach where the umbilical cord remains unclamped until the placenta is spontaneously expelled. This method aims to facilitate the maximum physiological transfer of placental blood to the newborn. While Delayed Cord Clamping (DCC)-typically defined as clamping between 1 and 3 minutes or until pulsations cease-is widely supported by literature for its ability to improve neonatal iron stores and reduce morbidity and mortality without increasing maternal-foetal risk, there is currently a lack of robust evidence regarding the systematic practice of Uninterrupted Intact Cord Clamping (UICC), defined as clamping only after placental delivery. This gap in the literature necessitates a thorough investigation into the potential benefits and safety of UICC.

Uninterrupted Intact Cord Clamping (UICC) requires waiting for the placenta to be expelled spontaneously before clamping the umbilical cord; this management of the third stage of labour facilitates the complete physiological transfer of placental blood to the newborn. Several studies have suggested that Delayed Cord Clamping (DCC) increases and improves neonatal blood reserves, ensuring more favourable outcomes in terms of neonatal morbidity and mortality without increasing maternal-foetal risk. Although there is a wealth of literature on the benefits of DCC at 1-3 minutes, the same cannot be said for UICC; hence the need for a thorough investigation of the subject. The overall aim of the study is to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes between UICC and DCC (3 minutes or until pulsations cease), through a single-centre prospective observational study.

Conditions