Table 1.
Current recommendations on umbilical cord clamping from professional organizations.
| Organization | Year | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| World Health Organization (WHO) [6,7] | 2006, most recently updated 2017 | “In newly-born term or preterm babies who do not require positive-pressure ventilation, the cord should not be clamped earlier than one minute after birth.” “Delayed umbilical cord clamping (not earlier than 1 min after birth) is recommended for improved maternal and infant health and nutrition outcomes.” |
| International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) [8] | 2010, updated 2015 | “DCC for longer than 30 s is reasonable for both term and preterm infants who do not require resuscitation at birth” |
| Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) [9] | 2017 | “Delay in umbilical cord clamping for at least 30–60 s for most vigorous term and preterm infants.” |
| American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) [10] | 2010, recently updated in 2017 | “Delay in umbilical cord clamping in vigorous term and preterm infants for at least 30–60 s after birth” |
| National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (United Kingdom) [11,12] | 2014, updated 2017 | “Do not clamp the cord earlier than 1 min from the birth of the baby unless there is concern about the integrity of the cord or the baby has a heart rate below 60 beats/minute that is not getting faster.” |
| American College of Nurse–Midwives [13] | 2014 | “For term newborns, delaying the clamping of the cord for 5 min if the newborn is placed skin-to-skin or 2 min with the newborn at or below the level of the introitus ensures the greatest benefit. For preterm newborns, the benefits of delaying cord clamping for 30 to 60 s include a significant reduction in intraventricular hemorrhage and a reduced need for blood transfusion.” |
| Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada [14] | 2009, reaffirmed 2018 | “Whenever possible, delaying cord clamping by at least 60 s is preferred to clamping earlier in premature newborns (<37 weeks’ gestation) since there is less intraventricular hemorrhage and less need for transfusion in those with late clamping.” |
DCC, delayed cord clamping.