Delayed cord blood clamping: a health boost for babies, and potentially for others – La Crosse Tribune

In utero, an umbilical cord is the babys lifeline and after birth, it still has the potential to sustain life.

Rather than cutting the cord immediately, Dr. Dennis Costakos, neonatologist at Mayo Clinic Health System La Crosse, advocates for delaying clamping for 30 seconds to a minute to increase distribution of blood to the infant rather than leaving this precious blood in the placenta. Clamped at 10 to 15 seconds, 67% of the umbilical cord blood will go directly to the infant, a percentage that increases to 80% at the 60-second mark.

Costakos implemented delayed cord clamping at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse in 2006 after presenting his research. The process has been around for hundreds of years but was not always common. In the 1960s, early cord clamping was the norm due to concerns about maternal and infant outcomes, but studies over the decades led to making delayed clamping standard some 50 years later.

People are also reading

For babies born at full term, the extra blood can improve iron stores and may enhance development.

Dennis Costakos

For babies born prematurely, waiting to clamp can decrease risk of some potentially life threatening complications of being born earlier than full term. Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Obstetric Practice and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend delayed cord clamping, with a 2012 systematic review of 15 studies showing a wait of 30 to 180 seconds had significant health benefits for preterm infants.

Among the infants studied, cord blood was found to improve transitional circulation and red blood cell volume, and reduce the chances of necrotizing enterocolitis (inflammation of intestinal tissue) and intraventricular hemorrhage.

It is possible there will be enough cord blood to both stay with the baby and be saved or donated. The cord blood can be stored in a private bank for use to help a family member with a qualifying condition, or donated to a public cord blood bank to aid in treating others.

If a sibling is currently suffering from leukemia, sickle cell disease, Hodgkins lymphoma or thalassemia, physicians may after discussion with the siblings care team and looking at the best treatment options recommended saving it for the sister or brother.

Cord blood banking for personal use is not recommended, as it is a highly costly service up to $2,000 to start, and additional fees of around $100 annually and not covered by insurance. The chance that the baby may later need their own stems cells is miniscule, and if requiring medical intervention a donors stem cells would likely be used.

The chances that you would ever call for the cord blood would not be more than one in 10,000, maybe even as low as one in 250,000, Costakos says.

Donations, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, are in need. Around 70% of patients do not have a fully matched family member, and for them A transplant of bone marrow or cord blood from an unrelated donor may be their only transplant option. The National Cord Blood Inventory aims to collect and store at least 150,000 new cord blood units, with donations from members of diverse racial and ethnic groups especially needed.

Donating, however, may not be feasible. Costakos notes moms-to-be could be disqualified from donating to public banks due to existing health conditions, and travel would be necessary as there are no collection centers in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Should they opt in to bank or donate, parents must express their wishes to save the cord blood in advance. The collection process is painless for the baby, Costakos says, as there are no nerve fibers in the umbilical cord.

Blood is drained from the umbilical cord with a needle, and a special collection bag is attached, Costakos says. After the bag is sealed, the placenta is delivered. The process takes about 10 minutes.

In some cases, immediate cord clamping may be necessary, such as if the cord placenta has already separated from the baby. This condition, called abruptio placenta, can interrupt or prevent oxygen and nutrient supply to the baby and cause the mother to bleed excessively.

For more information on cord blood donation, visit https://bloodstemcell.hrsa.gov/.

UW-La Crosse staff and faculty deliver gift baskets Tuesday afternoon at Gundersen.

Donations from the UW-L campus community are delivered at Gundersen.

Nurses and a representative from the Gundersen Medical Foundation met the UW-L students and faculty.

Donations from the UW-L campus community are delivered at Gundersen.

The gifts including snacks, games, gift cards, thank-you notes and more were donated by the UW-L campus community.

Donations from the UW-L campus community are delivered at Gundersen.

Donations from the UW-L campus community are delivered at Gundersen.

The gifts including snacks, games, gift cards, thank-you notes and more were donated by the UW-L campus community.

Donations from the UW-L campus community.

Nurses and a representative from the Gundersen Medical Foundation met the UW-L students and faculty.

Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.

Go here to see the original:
Delayed cord blood clamping: a health boost for babies, and potentially for others - La Crosse Tribune