Effect of delayed versus immediate umbilical cord clamping in vaginal delivery at term: A randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE: To compare maternal blood loss with immediate cord clamping versus delayed cord clamping in women undergoing spontaneous vaginal delivery at term. METHODS: Parallel group non‐blinded randomized trial conducted at a single center in Italy. Women with singleton gestations who underwent spontaneous vaginal delivery at term were eligible and were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either immediate or delayed cord clamping. In the immediate cord clamping group, cord clamping was within 15 s after birth. In the delayed cord clamping group, cord clamping was after more than 60 s, or when the cord had stopped pulsing. The primary outcome was change in maternal hemoglobin level from the day of delivery to day one after delivery. RESULTS: A total of 122 participants were enrolled in the trial. There were no significant differences in maternal blood loss as assessed by comparing the decrease in maternal hemoglobin level (mean difference − 0.10 g/dl, 95% confidence interval − 0.28 to 0.08) between the two groups. The mean hemoglobin level at postdelivery day 1 was 11.0 ± 1.5 g/dl in the delayed group and 11.3 ± 1.6 g/dl in the immediate group. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed umbilical cord clamping, compared with immediate umbilical cord clamping, resulted in no significant change in maternal hemoglobin level 1 day after delivery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04353544.