Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2019, 9, 229-241 http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojog ISSN Online: 2160-8806 ISSN Print: 2160-8792 DOI: 10.4236/ojog.2019.92024 Feb. 21, 2019 229 Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Effect of Delayed versus Early Cord Clamping on Neonatal Outcomes and Iron Status at 4 Months Musa O. Busarira 1 , Entesar Alasbaly 1 , Maryam Sulayman Mbark 2 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ejdabia Hospital, Ejdabia, Libya Abstract Background: The optimal timing of umbilical cord clamping has been de- bated in the scientific literature for over a century. Early clamping of the um- bilical cord is widely practised as part of the management of labour. Early clamping of the cord was one of the first routine medical interventions in la- bour. Its place in modern births was guaranteed by its incorporation into the triad of interventions that make up the active management of the third stage of labour. Babies who have immediate cord clamping have also been shown to be more likely to be anaemic, have decreased fine motor skills, and have decreased social skills during their first few years of age. Delayed umbilical cord clamping appears to have clear benefit for term infants. Delayed umbili- cal cord clamping increases hemoglobin levels at birth and improves iron stores in the first few months of life, which improve the developmental out- comes. There is growing evidence that delayed cord clamping is beneficial and can improve the infant’s iron status for up to 6 months after birth. For the first few minutes after birth, there is still circulation from the placenta to the infant. Waiting to clamp the umbilical cord for 2 - 3 min, or until cord pulsations cease, allows a physiological transfer of placental blood to the in- fant (placental transfusion), the majority of which occurs within 3 min. This placental transfusion provides sufficient iron reserves for the first 6 - 8 months of life, preventing or delaying the development of iron deficiency un- til other interventions. WHO’s findings suggest that late cord clamping (one to three minutes after delivery or longer) is recommended for all births. Aim of the study: 1) To evaluate the benefit of delayed cord clamping on the in- fant’s health status. 2) To assess hemoglobin, iron and ferritin at birth and at 4 months of age in infants who underwent early cord clamping (at 30 seconds) as compared with infants who underwent delayed cord clamping (at How to cite this paper: Busarira, M.O., Alasbaly, E. and Mbark, M.S. (2019) Effect of Delayed versus Early Cord Clamping on Neonatal Outcomes and Iron Status at 4 Months. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 9, 229-241. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojog.2019.92024 Received: January 7, 2019 Accepted: February 18, 2019 Published: February 21, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access