"Cutting the cord is a momentous event in a babys life. For nine months the developing fetus is attached to its mother by the umbilical cord. Then moments after birth that cord is severed. Now research suggests there may be benefits to keeping mom and baby attached a few minutes longer. Those benefits researchers say likely have to do with iron. Waiting a few minutes before clamping the umbilical cord allows more ironrich blood from the placenta to reach the newborn. Iron deficiency occurs in about one in six American babies and its more common among those clamped quickly said Ola Andersson a neonatologist and pediatrician at Uppsala University in Sweden who led a study published today in JAMA Pediatrics. Babies who are anemic often appear tired and pale. His previous research has shown that babies whose cords were clamped a few minutes later than usual were  less likely than others to have irondeficiency anemia when they were  months old. The benefits of those extra few minutes may last a long time. In the new study Andersson found that healthy fullterm newborns whose umbilical cords were left attached for three extra minutes had better fine motor control when they reached preschool than those clamped immediately. Some yearold boys who were clamped later even appeared to have better social skills. Iron is essential to the developing brain he said and deficiencies during early months  perhaps linked to early clamping  could affect nerve and muscle control making it harder for the child to later control a pen or interact comfortably with peers. Anderssons study marks the first time researchers have followed children to see whether the clamping makes a difference later in life. In  he published a study of  healthy fullterm babies showing that those clamped later fared better the new study of  of those children extends those findings by nearly four years. Boys showed more benefit than girls probably because they are more likely to be irondeficient Andersson said. Immediate clamping started about  years ago out of concern that leaving the delivered infant attached to the placenta could rob the mother of too much blood. But those doctors overestimated the benefit to the mother and didnt look at the impact their change had on the babies said Heike Rabe a researcher at Brighton and Sussex Medical School and University Hospitals in the United Kingdom who wrote an editorial accompanying the study. For babies born at fullterm we should trust nature more than we do now she said. Rabe has published reviews showing that delaying clamping for  seconds or squeezing the umbilical cord to get the blood out faster is also better for premature babies. Many countries and professional organizations including the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have called on obstetricians to delay cord clamping in premature babies when feasible. There was not enough evidence before to extend that recommendation to fullterm babies but Rabe thinks this study should tip the balance in favor of delay. Kjersti Aagaard vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Childrens Hospital is more skeptical. She said the decision about when to clamp should be made between the doctor and parents depending on the delivery the health of the baby and the mothers condition. The most important thing for parents to be talking with their provider about is how will we adapt to the delivery as it emerges she said."