Parents today have several options for the management of their infant’s cord blood during the third stage of labour. Parents can choose to have their infant’s cord clamped early or to have deferred cord clamping.
If the cord is clamped early, cord blood can be collected for private cord blood banking or public cord blood donation for use later if needed. If cord clamping is deferred, the placental blood physiologically transfuses to the neonate and there are physiological advantages to this.
These benefits include a smoother cardiovascular transition and increased haemoglobin levels while not interfering with the practice of collecting cord blood for gases if needed.
The aim of this study is to explore Australian maternity health professionals’ perspectives towards cord clamp timing, cord blood banking and cord blood donation.