Infant Brain Study Follow-Up at 3 and 4 Years of Age

When immediate clamping of the umbilical cord (ICC) occurs at birth, 20 to 30% of the fetal-placental blood volume is left behind in the placenta. Preliminary results from our current study comparing effects of ICC versus placental transfusion from delayed cord clamping (DCC) show that infants who have DCC have higher ferritin levels at 4 months of age and more myelin in important regions of the brain. Our objective for this follow-up study is to see if the effects of placental transfusion persist to three and four years of age. The investigators plan to enroll only children who participated in the previous trial (Infant Brain Study/NCT01620008) at birth for assessments at three and four years of age. Assessments include MRIs and neurodevelopmental testing to examine cognitive, motor, visual, and behavioral outcomes.

The proposed research addresses two central questions regarding the potential benefits of DCC on brain myelin development in children who were born healthy at term: 1. Does DCC result in increased brain myelin deposition at three and four years of age? and 2) Are DCC, iron stores, and brain myelin content in infancy associated with improved cognitive, motor, and socio-behavioral outcomes at three and four years of age?