A minute's delay could make a lifetime of difference, a team of Australian researchers has found when investigating umbilical cord clamping of very premature babies.
Delayed clamping of the umbilical cord is routine in full term babies, but clinicians generally cut the cord of preterm babies immediately so urgent medical care can be given.
But the new research, led by the University of Sydney, has found that often does more harm than good.
The study followed up on babies who were part of the largest-ever clinical trial of delayed cord clamping of children born before 30 weeks, conducted in 25 hospitals across seven countries.
It compared outcomes for more than 1500 children - about half for whom caregivers aimed for 60 second delay in clamping and half where cord clamping was conducted within 10 seconds of delivery.
The research found that delaying clamping reduces a child's relative risk of death or major disability in early childhood by 17 per cent.
That includes a 30 per cent reduction in death before the age of two.
In addition, 15 per cent fewer infants in the delayed-clamping group needed blood transfusions after birth.
Researchers think the practices allows babies to get extra red and white blood cells and stem cells from the placenta, which help to achieve healthy oxygen levels, control infection and repair injured tissue.
Study lead Professor William Tarnow-Mordi said the simple discovery will have significant impact worldwide.
"It's very rare to find an intervention with this sort of impact that is free and requires nothing more sophisticated than a clock," he said.
An extra 50,000 premature babies could survive without major disability in the next decade, if the research is applied consistently worldwide, University of Sydney biostatistician Dr Kristy Robledo said.
"In other words, for every 20 very preterm babies who get delayed instead of immediate clamping, one more will survive without major disability."
