The Effect of Umbilical Cord Clamping Distance
Condition: Newborn; Infection; Umbilical Cord Infection
MeSH terms: Infections; Communicable Diseases
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      A randomized control trial was conducted to test the effect of umbilical cord clamping
      distance on cord separation time and umbilical cord microbial colonization in neonates.
    

Detailed description: 
      Among the indicators of a country's level of development is the neonatal mortality rate. This
      rate reveals the extent of a country's economic development and how this affects health. One
      of the main causes of neonatal mortality is infection-related fatalities. Every year,
      approximately 700,000 neonatal deaths occur from bacterial infections.Navel cord infections
      comprise a large part of neonatal infections.

      The umbilical cord is clamped and cut off at a distance of 2-3 cm from the newborn's
      abdominal wall after birth, after which its function is terminated. The necrotic tissue
      remaining in the newborn's umbilical cord provides an ideal environment for bacterial growth.
      The umbilical cord dries out and falls in the interval between postpartum 5-15 day. The
      prolongation of the umbilical cord falling time increases the possibility of developing
      bacterial infection. The umbilical cord microbial colonization was usually detected on 5th
      and 7th days after birth.

      Since the time the umbilical cord falls off directly affects the health of the newborn, it is
      important to understand the factors that can affect this time. The literature reveals studies
      on umbilical cord separation times, most of which are devoted to comparing various techniques
      of caring for the cord. No study however has been discovered that has examined the effect of
      the distance between the abdominal wall of the newborn and the cord clamping site. It is
      believed that the clamping distance of the umbilical cord may be among the factors that have
      an impact on the separation time of the cord. Also, although midwives are responsible for the
      clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord, it is observed that there is no measuring
      instrument that is used in this procedure and the cord is clamped by eyeball estimation.
      There is no standard practice and there are also differences between the practices of
      midwives. This situation and the lack of adequate information in the literature on cord
      clamping distance pointed to the need for conducting a study in this context.

      This study was intended to determine the effect of umbilical cord clamping distance on the
      cord separation time and on microbial colonization in the umbilical cord.

      It was tested the hypotheses that there is no difference between the intervention and control
      groups of newborns after the umbilical cord clambing distance intervention, the cord
      separation time and on microbial colonization outcomes.
    

Intervention name(s): Umbilical cord clamping distance
Intervention type(s): Procedure
Intervention description(s): Intervention group I: Umbilical cord clamped at a distance of 2cm Intervention group II: Umbilical cord clamped at a distance of 3cm Control group: Usual care (clamped without measurement).
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Care Provider, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: colonization; midwives; newborn; separation time; umbilical cord