One-time umbilical cord milking after cord cutting has same effectiveness as multiple-time umbilical cord milking in infants born at <29 weeks of gestation: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare two strategies to potentiate the effects of placental transfusion in infants born at <29 weeks of gestation.

STUDY DESIGN: Twenty infants who received one-time umbilical cord milking after umbilical cord cutting were compared with 20 infants from a previous study group who received multiple-time umbilical cord milking. The primary outcome measurements were the probability of not needing a red blood cell (RBC) transfusion during the hospital stay and the total number of RBC transfusions within 21 days after birth.

RESULT: There was no significant difference in the probability of not needing a transfusion during the hospital stay (P=0.75) and the mean number of RBC transfusions given within the first 21 days of life (1.1±1.8 for the one-time umbilical cord-milking group vs 0.7±1.2 for the multiple-time umbilical cord-milking group, P=0.48).

CONCLUSION: One-time umbilical cord milking after umbilical cord cutting had similar beneficial effects to multiple-time umbilical cord milking before umbilical cord cutting in very premature infants.