Final answer:
It is recommended to delay umbilical cord clamping for 1-3 minutes after birth in healthy newborns, allowing beneficial transfer of blood constituents from the placenta, supporting the infant's circulatory and respiratory transition.
Step-by-step explanation:
In healthy newborns, delaying umbilical cord clamping for at least 1-3 minutes after birth is recommended.
The practice of delayed cord clamping allows for a continued transfer of blood from the placenta to the infant, providing additional iron, red blood cells, and stem cells. This process can naturally occur within 20 minutes after birth due to the swelling of Wharton's jelly and constriction of blood vessels in cooler temperatures outside the mother's body. If medical assistance is not present, the umbilical vessels would naturally close when the cord stops pulsating.
The vessels would then atrophy and become fibrotic, forming part of the circulatory system's ligaments. Following birth, respiratory adjustments occur when the newborn's first breath is taken, which involves clearing the lungs and setting up the oxygen exchange process, previously handled by the placenta. During this physiological transition, delayed umbilical cord clamping can benefit most infants, including preterm newborns, as it can promote better circulatory and respiratory adaptation to extrauterine life.