THE INFLUENCE OF THE PLACENTAL TRANSFUSION ON THE CAPILLARY BLOOD GAS AND ACID-BASE BALANCE IN THE NEWBORN INFANT

Of 77 normal newborns, 42 were clamped early while 35 were clamped late. Using capillary blood from an unwarmed heel, the hema-tocrit and the acid-base balance of the two groups were compared. During the first day of life the hematocrit of late-clamped newborns was fairly constant and higher than that of early-clamped babies, the latter showing a definite fall 2–24 hours after birth. Regarding the acid-base balance, no difference was found between the two groups of newborns except when measurements were performed 3–5 hours after birth. At this time actual pH and standard bicarbonate were lower in late-clamped babies than in early-clamped, while P_CO2 was identical. On the basis of the hematocrit findings it is proposed that the placental transfusion, by creating oedema of the interstitial space, may contribute to the well known discrepancy between the acid-base status of the capillary and the arterial blood of the newborn.