Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/5HoB0yET2hk   Waiting even a minute before clamping the umbilical cord of a just-born premature infant can reduce that child’s risk of death before the age of 2 by 30%.  Researchers at the University of Sydney now publish their followup results on some 15,310 Australian and New Zealand premies half of whom had the clamping of their umbilical cords delayed for 60 seconds and half had their cords clamped within 10 seconds of birth before 30 weeks of gestation.   Those extra seconds permit the just born baby to receive vital supplies of red and white blood cells as well as stem cells from their placentas.  This mini auto-transfusion helps the baby maintain better oxygenation levels, fight infection, and foster tissue and organ development.   Immediate cord clamping had been the norm for premies since the prevailing theory was that these frail neonates required immediate artificial respiratory support in a setting away from the delivery table.  In fact, most do not.   https://www.the