The World Health Organization recommends that the umbilical cord not be clamped earlier than 1 minute after birth in term or preterm newborns. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also recommends deferring umbilical cord clamping for healthy term and preterm infants for at least 2 minutes after birth.
The term early clamping was defined as umbilical cord clamping within 1 minute of birth, and late clamping was defined as umbilical cord clamping more than 5 minutes after birth. Because of the lack of specific recommendations regarding the optimal time to cut the cord, the interval between birth and umbilical cord clamping began to be shortened, and it became common practice to clamp the umbilical cord shortly after birth, usually within 15–20 seconds. Back in the days when general anesthesia and narcotics for pain relief were prevalent, early cutting of the umbilical cord reduced the amount of anesthesia and sedation the baby received. Even today, in many U.S. hospital settings, the moment the baby is born, the obstetrician will immediately cut the cord and hand off the newborn to an attending health-care provider to be assessed under a radiant warmer.
How long can you wait to cut umbilical cord?
