Routine testing of umbilical cord blood after normal delivery should be discontinued.

On many newborns in Sweden routine samples of blood are taken from the umbilical cord after birth to measure the acid-base balance. These tests were introduced with the aim to objectively measure the well-being and stress levels of the newborn. The information was to be used as a measurement of quality of care, for research and as a tool to help guide decisions around the care-needs of the newborn. After 10 years of routine analysis it has become clear that the results of these tests have limited clinical value and that they are a poor measurement of quality of care.