This discovery provides compelling evidence that CD34-negative HSCs “could be more effective as a treatment option than current clinical use suggests,” says Al-Amoodi, the first author of the academic paper detailing these findings.
“Given how effectively CD34-negative cells integrate with the bone marrow niche,” she explains, “their use could prolong cell regeneration in the transplant recipient.”
Moreover, incorporating both CD34-positive and CD34-negative HSCs in transplantation procedures has the potential to enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness, amplifying the therapeutic benefits of cord blood “since it would double the potential stem cell content,” she says.
COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy was not associated with any increased risks in newborn infants. On the contrary, the study of nearly 200,000 newborns in Sweden and Norway showed that babies born by women who chose to be vaccinated were less likely to suffer serious complications, including death. The mortality rate was only half as high in babies whose mothers had been vaccinated.
“But we now know that almost all very preterm babies will start breathing by themselves in the first minute, if they are given that time.”
“We think that, after delaying cord clamping, babies get extra red and white blood cells and stem cells from the placenta, helping to achieve healthy oxygen levels, control infection and repair injured tissue.”
What does this mean for babies born today?
The childhood follow-up to the Australian Placental Transfusion Study is the largest world-wide two-year follow up of preterm cord clamping providing the best evidence to date on positive outcomes at two years of age.
Co-author and founder of Miracle Babies Foundation Melinda Cruz, herself a parent of three preterm babies, said she hoped the results would give parents confidence to discuss their options with their birthing professionals.
“I hope that prospective parents around the world will read about this trial for themselves and discuss it with their midwives and obstetricians,” she said.
From research to practice
The first evidence, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, indicating that delayed umbilical cord clamping might have benefits for preterm infants and their mothers came in 2017 from a systematic review of randomised trials in nearly 3,000 preterm babies.
The Australian Placental Transfusion Study led by Professor Tarnow-Mordi was the largest of these trials and went to be named winner of the ‘Trial of the Year’ by Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt MP and the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance in 2018.
The cord continues to act as the baby’s only oxygen supply until the baby starts to breathe, before the placenta becomes detached. So, even when a baby needs help to breathe, the cord should ideally remain intact as the baby is resuscitated at the bedside. If the umbilical cord is cut too early, the baby can be deprived of oxygen, 20-30% of its blood volume and 50% of its red blood cell volume.
This shortage of blood will leave up to 30% of babies with iron-deficient anaemia. A review of 27 studies involving six to 24-month-old babies found that babies with iron-deficient anaemia have significantly poorer brain, physical, social and emotional functioning. Iron deficiency has also been linked to recurring infections, autism and learning difficulties.
A few minutes makes a big difference
Aside from reducing the risk of iron-deficiency anaemia, delaying clamping by a few minutes has a range of other health benefits, including: a reduced lifetime risk of developing chronic lung disease, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, infection and abnormal tissue growths; a reduced risk of bowel infections, death in premature babies,sepsis and brain haemorrhage in very premature babies; and an increased likelihood of being more sociable and better behaved at age four.
Babies who have delayed cord clamping also enjoy higher birth weights, compared with babies who have their cords clamped immediately.
Ultimately, immediate cord clamping disrupts the natural birth process and may cause harm to some babies by depriving them of essential blood and stem cells. Waiting until the umbilical cord is empty of blood before clamping it is the way to go.
Newborn babies who were born with high levels of an immune-related protein in their blood cells were less likely to develop malaria throughout their early childhood, new research led by Curtin University has found.
The research, published in Scientific Reports, screened a number of immunity proteins, known as cytokines, at birth and investigated whether these small proteins provided protection against malaria for newborn babies.
Lead author Dr. Yong Song, from the School of Public Health at Curtin University, said childhood malaria remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality resulting in 500,000 deaths annually, and with more than 90 per cent of malaria infections occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We found that newborn babies born with a high level of a certain type of cytokine, known as IL-12, in their umbilical cord blood had a higher resistance to the development of malaria in the first two years of their life,” Dr. Song said.
“Our research also investigated how newborn babies develop high levels of IL-12 in the cord blood. We found that the inbred quantity of these small proteins was not only influenced by children and mother’s genetic variation, but was also dependent on the immune system conditions of the mother during pregnancy.”