Delayed clamping of the umbilical cord might prevent or slow the onset of iron deficiency by increasing the infant's iron endowment at birth. Compared to early clamping, a delay in clamping in clamping of around 2-3 min provides an additional 25-40 mL of blood per kg of bodyweight to the newborn infant. The results of previous intervention studies on delayed clamping are mixed, and few have followed the infants beyond the perinatal period. All longer follow up studies have been performed in low income countries except for the investigators earlier study, showing less iron deficiency and improved iron stores after delayed cord clamping at 4 months of age. The main objective of the current study is to assess whether the time of cord clamping affects neurodevelopment at 4 years of age in a large sample of full-term, Swedish infants. The investigators hypothesis is that as delayed cord clamping improves iron stores at 4 months, this could affect the child's development positively.
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Intelligence quotient (IQ) as measured by the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III.
Timeframe: 48 months (plus 3 months)