Every little bit helps

Teaching the developed world that fast and neat isn't always better:

Delaying clamping the umbilical cord at birth by roughly two minutes can give newborns a health boost that carries through the early months of their lives, a new study suggests.

Late clamping, as it is called, allows more blood from the cord and the placenta to flow into the infant, raising iron levels and decreasing the risk of anemia in the first weeks and months of life, McMaster University researchers suggested in the article, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

[snip]

Individually they present conflicting evidence for the debate. But pooled together, Hutton said, the data show a statistically significant lowering of anemia rates in babies who were clamped late, but no real increased risk of serious side-effects in those same babies.

"And the significance is not just at the time the baby's born; it lasts quite a long period of time," she said from Hamilton.

"The iron stores were increased [up] to six months of age. Basically you can imagine it's giving your baby a better start."