A recent study in Sweden showed that you can teach old dogs new tricks.
The study involved clamping of the umbilical and asked the question: Why do we clamp the umbilical cord quickly after birth and is this a good thing?
They did a small study, but it was quite convincing. It demonstrated better blood counts and iron levels in the babies who had the cord clamped at 3 minutes, as opposed to 10 seconds.
It was presumed that blood was lost by transfer from the baby to the placenta, but it turns out to be just the oppositve. The placent ‘tranfuses’ the baby with blood after it is born.
So….contrary to general opinion and practice, it appears that delayed cord clamping is a positive benefit for the baby, preventing iron defficiency. This is expected to become common practice in the future.