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BACKGROUND	Umbilical cord milking ( UCM ) improves blood pressure and urine output , and decreases the need for transfusions in comparison to immediate cord clamping ( ICC ) .
BACKGROUND	The immediate effect of UCM in the first few minutes of life and the impact on neonatal resuscitation has not been described .
METHODS	Women admitted to a tertiary care center and delivering before 32 weeks gestation were randomized to receive UCM or ICC .
METHODS	A blinded analysis of physiologic data collected on the newborns in the delivery room was performed using a data acquisition system .
METHODS	Heart rate ( HR ) , SpO2 , mean airway pressure ( MAP ) , and FiO2 in the delivery room were compared between infants receiving UCM and infants with ICC .
RESULTS	41 of 60 neonates who were enrolled and randomized had data from analog tracings at birth .
RESULTS	20 of these infants received UCM and 21 had ICC .
RESULTS	Infants receiving UCM had higher heart rates and higher SpO2 over the first 5 minutes of life , were exposed to less FiO2 over the first 10 minutes of life than infants with ICC .
CONCLUSIONS	UCM when compared to ICC had decreased need for support immediately following delivery , and in situations where resuscitation interventions were needed immediately , UCM has the advantage of being completed in a very short time to improve stability following delivery .
BACKGROUND	ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01434732 .

