Babies born with acidic blood in the umbilical cord need extra surveillance, doctors warned today.
Acid levels – or pH measurements – may be able to alert doctors to a baby having been deprived of oxygen during labour, researchers said.
The major analysis, conducted by researchers in Birmingham, UK, found a strong link between low pH levels in umbilical cord blood and infant death, brain damage and cerebral palsy.
Dr Gemma Malin, of Birmingham Women’s Hospital, analysed 51 studies involving nearly 500,000 babies for the British Medical Journal.
Writing in the journal, Professor James Neilson, of Liverpool University, UK, says doctors should now aim to reduce the number of babies with low pH levels in the cord blood.
He added: "Umbilical cord blood should only be tested when there has been concern about the baby either in labour or immediately following birth."
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