Investigating the Effect of Umbilical Cord Milking on Neonatal Outcomes among the Preterm Infants Born in Shariati Hospital of Bandar Abbas
Author(s): Azin Alavi, Abulhassan Diuband, Zahra Etaati, Elham Boushehri, Parvaneh Heidari
Abstract
The annual rate of preterm birth on a global scale is 15 million which is ever-increasing. About a million of these infants die due to the outcomes of preterm birth among which anemia is on top of the list. Purpose of the study: The present research aimed to investigate the effect of delayed umbilical cord clamping and cord milking on neonatal outcomes among preterm infants. In the present interventional study (double-blinded), 80 pregnant women whose age of pregnancy ranged between 28 and 34 weeks and visited Shariati Woman’s Hospital of Bandar Abbas for a vaginal or surgical labor participated. They were randomly divided into two groups. In the intervention group, an infant’s umbilical cord was milked. In the control group, however, no extra action was taken. At the end, the collected data were statistically analyzed using T-test, Chi-squared test and Fisher’s exact test. The two research groups shared similar demographic information. At the end of the study, such factors as birth hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, neonatal blood pressure and clinical symptoms including neonatal jaundice requiring a phototherapy and polycythemia 48 hours after the birth were higher in the intervention group than the control. On the other hand, the need for CPR and the volume of blood transfusion (in cc) and respiratory distress were higher in the control group than the intervention. Milking an delayed-clamping of the umbilical cord are effective in neonatal outcomes among preterm infants (28-34 weeks) and can be used as a well applicable method in hospitals to prevent he adverse effects of preterm birth.
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