A view on why immediate cord clamping must cease in routine obstetric delivery

Abstract

Key content: • There is good evidence that immediate cord clamping can harm the newborn baby. • Delaying cord clamping for at least 30 seconds is possible in all deliveries. Learning objectives: • To increase awareness of the need for routine delayed clamping by obstetricians and midwives. • To explore the practice in the presence of fetal distress and nuchal cord. Ethical issues: • How can a balance be struck between the legal drive for cord blood measurements at birth, which requires immediate cord clamping, and the therapeutically driven delay in cord clamping?