This study assessed the effect of delayed (1 minute after delivery) clamping of the umbilical cord on hemoglobin and ferritin levels in infants at three months of age. Mothers and their infants born through vaginal delivery, at term, and without congenital anomalies (325 pairs) were recruited at a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2006 (164 in the delayed clamping subgroup and 161 in the early clamping subgroup). Maternal hemoglobin at delivery, umbilical cord hemoglobin, and ferritin were recorded. At three months follow-up, venous blood samples were drawn from 224 (69%) infants for hemoglobin and ferritin measurement. Socioeconomic, maternal reproductive, anthropometric, and infant feeding variables were studied. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the data. The effect of delayed clamping at birth, measured at three months, was only significant for ferritin (p = 0.040), and the concentration was higher (23.29ng/mL) in this subgroup as compared to the early clamping subgroup. Delayed umbilical cord clamping can serve as a strategy to improve infant iron status and prevent iron deficiency.
Nutritional Epidemiology; Anemia; Iron Deficiency; Child; Umbilical Cord
