The new research, led by the University of Sydney, is a two-year follow up of the Australian Placental Transfusion Study, the award-winning and largest-ever clinical trial of delayed cord clamping of babies born before 30 weeks. It was conducted in 25 hospitals across seven countries.
The new study compared outcomes for over 1500 babies from the initial study, 767 with caregivers aiming for 60 second delay in clamping and 764 with caregivers aiming for cord clamping before 10 seconds after delivery.
Researchers found that delaying clamping reduces a child’s relative risk of death or major disability in early childhood by 17 percent. This included a 30 percent reduction in mortality before the age of two.
In addition, 15 percent fewer infants in the delayed-clamping group needed blood transfusions after birth.
The study is published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health today.
It is coordinated by the University of Sydney’s NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre in collaboration with the IMPACT Clinical Trials Network of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network.
