"Delaying cutting the once life-giving cord, rather than clamping it immediately, results in better blood counts and iron levels for a baby, according to the meta-analysis -- or study of previous studies -- that appears in the March 21 issue of the "

"Still, experts not involved with the new research are divided on the advisability of adopting the practice of a delayed cutting but agree more research is needed before clinical changes are recommended. "

""There are no real practical implications here, and the study authors themselves indicate that more studies are needed," said Dr. Salih Yasin, associate chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "

""The studies hint that baby has better iron storage and is less likely to get anemic (with late clamping), so that should be important to pediatricians," added Dr. Cheryl Cipriani, associate professor of pediatrics at the Texas A&M Health Science Center and pediatric neonatologist at Scott & White Hospital. "I personally think that this might make many physicians do something in between (early and late clamping) and design a large, multi-center study. Maybe it's time to review what we do.""

"The umbilical cord, which connects a fetus to the mother during pregnancy, is almost always cut at birth in developed nations. But the exact timing for the cutting is a subject of some debate. "

"In the absence of formal guidelines, most health-care practitioners in the developed world cut the cord immediately after birth, both to avoid respiratory problems and to facilitate bonding between mother and child. In the developing world, the timing is much more variable with a tendency toward late clamping to counter a high risk of anemia in those regions. "

"Today, there are also questions concerning banking of umbilical cord blood, because it can provide stem cells that would be a match for the baby. "More and more parents are doing this," Cipriani said. "Only about half
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