Background
Delayed cord clamping (DCC) above one minute is associated with nutritional and developmental benefits for newborns. DCC could also lead to elevated serum bilirubin, leading to jaundice that require phototherapy at the early ages of life. However, evidence on the relationship between DCC and outcomes is limited in resource-limited settings.
Objective
To evaluate the effect of the time of cord clamping on serum bilirubin level at 24 hours post-birth in an Ethiopian Tertiary Care hospital.
Methods
A three-arm, single-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted between October 2019-January 2020 targeting healthy, full-term neonates. Study participants were randomly assigned into one of the following interventions depending on the timing of cord clamping: immediate cord clamping (< 30 seconds), intermediate cord clamping (60 sec), and delayed cord clamping (180 seconds). The primary outcome is serum bilirubin level in the newborns, which was assessed at 24−hour after birth and before they were discharged home.
Result
A total of 141 term newborns were included and randomized into the three categories. Demographic, social and obstetrics factors of the women were not different across groups except labor duration that had a P-value < 0.05. Time of cord clamping was not a significant predictor of total serum bilirubin levels at 24 hours post-birth, whereas cord blood total serum bilirubin (coef. 0.24; p < 0.05) and bilirubin nomogram high-risk zone (Coef. 6.25; p < 0.001) were significant predictors.
Conclusion
Time of umbilical cord clamping does not affect the total serum bilirubin level of neonates at least within 24 hours of birth.