Neonatal Anemia in Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping

Shaista Panhwar; Zahida Brohi; Anila Mujadid; Iqra Rafique Khokhar; Surhan Laghari; Shahzina Salam

doi:10.71104/jsogp.v16i1.1026

Shaista Panhwar Postgraduate Resident of Obs and Gynae, (BMC for boys LUMHS/Jamshoro)
Zahida Brohi Professor of Obs and Gynae, (BMC for boys LUMHS/Jamshoro
Anila Mujadid Assistant Professor, Obs department SICHN, MCHC, LUMHS/Jamshoro
Iqra Rafique Khokhar Senior Registrar Pediatrics, LUMHS/Jamshoro
Surhan Laghari Senior Registrar Pathology, Bilawal Medical College (BMC for Boys), LUMHS, Jamshoro
Shahzina Salam DGO LUMHS, Consultant gynaecologist at Hyderabad

DOI: https://doi.org/10.71104/jsogp.v16i1.1026

Keywords: Neonatal anemia, early cord clamping

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of neonatal anemia in women with delayed umbilical cord clamping present at CDF Hospital Hyderabad.

Methodology: This Cross-sectional descriptive study was done at department of Obstetrics and Gynecology C.D.F Hospital Hyderabad, Bilawal Medical College, LUMHS, from August 2025 to January 2026. Women with term pregnancy aged 20–45 years, with a gestational age of 37 to 42 weeks, of either parity, having singleton pregnancies with neonates delivered by NVD and undergoing delayed umbilical cord clamping (DCC), were included. All the babies were further evaluating for anemia by drawing blood samples and send to laboratory for the assessment of anemia after six hours of birth and hematocrit <45% at after umbilical cord clamping was considered as anemia. All the relevant data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 26.

Results: Overall maternal mean age was 27.7 years. Overall, 30 (16.5%) neonates were diagnosed with neonatal anemia, around more than one in four neonates found to be anemic. Multi-parity, maternal obesity and low socioeconomic status were the only statistically significant predictors of neonatal anemia in this cohort (p<0.05), while maternal diabetes and neonatal gender showed insignificant association with neonatal anemia (p >0.05).

Conclusion: The DCC observed to be a safe and effective strategy for reducing the frequency of neonatal anemia in term infants, and since it increases iron stores after birth, it may also help prevent anemia later in infancy.