Early ligation of the umbilical cord as a risk factor for anemia in Cuban infants

Abstract

Introduction: Anemia is a public health problem in Cuban infants whose iron reserves are low in the first six months of life. One of the well-known measures to prevent iron-deficiency anemia is the adequate time elapsed from birth to the umbilical cord clamping.
Objective: To assess the time elapsed from birth to the ligation of the umbilical cord in the newborns from three Cuban provinces.
Methods: A group of newborns from Havana, Villa Clara and Holguin provinces, representing each region of the country (Western, Central and Eastern), were selected. They had been born as from December 2014 in Dr Eusebio Hernández¨, ¨10 de Octubre¨, Mariana Grajales and ¨Vladimir Ilich Lenin¨ gynecobsteric hospitals. The reference value for the late ligation of the umbilical cord was 60 seconds or over. A total of 328 births from ectopic deliveries and elective cesarean sections were evaluated.
Results: The average time elapsed for the cord ligation was 21.5 seconds. It was found that ligation occurred early (less than 60 seconds) in 96% of births regardless of the procedures used in the study provinces.
Conclusions: Postpartum time for the ligation of the umbilical cord was inadequate in most of the evaluated cases according to the recommendations made by the World Health Organization.