Sol Libesman News Today

Waiting for two minutes or longer to clamp the umbilical cord of a premature baby soon after birth could help reduce the risk of death, compared with immediately clamping the umbilical cord, or waiting a shorter time before doing so.

Delaying the clamping allows blood to flow from the placenta to the baby while the babys lungs fill with air.

Waiting for at least 2 minutes at birth to clamp the umbilical cord of premature babies could decrease their risk of death by more than half compared with immediate clamping.

Deferred clamping of umbilical cord reduces risk of death in premature babies by at least a third, suggest two studies with the most comprehensive analysis to date.