Background: the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of placental cord
drainage on duration and blood loss of third stage of labor. Design: Randomized controlled
trial was utilized. Setting: The study was performed at delivery unit of Obstetrics and
Gynecology Departments, Mansoura University Hospital, Egypt. Subjects: One hundred
forty parturient women undergoing normal vaginal delivery attained the inclusion criteria
were comprised. The entrants were divided equally by simple randomization into
intervention group (n=70 women) who underwent placental cord drainage and control group
consisted of (n=70 women) who received the conventional hospital protocol. Tools:
Structured interview schedule and labor assessment sheet were used for collecting the data.
Results: The mean of third stage assessment parameters showed statistically significant
difference, where it was significantly shorter in favor of the intervention group than control
group. Time elapsed until appearance of placenta separation signs was (3.657 ± 0.678 vs.
6.514 ± 0.829 min.), duration of 3rd stage was (4.528 ± 0.557 vs. 7.185 ± 0.665 min.) and the
amount of blood loss was (192.50 ± 9.545 vs. 289.285 ± 11.711 ml.) respectively. However,
there was no statistically significant difference observed between both groups regarding
placenta weight. Furthermore, the incidence of relaxed uterus, Postpartum hemorrhage and
the need for uterotonic drugs were lower in intervention group in comparison to
those in
control group by 17.1%, 10% and 10% respectively. 7.1% of control group had
retained
placenta. Conclusion: The current study findings highlighted that placental cord
drainage
was an effective method in reducing the duration and blood loss of third stage of labor in
normal vaginal deliveries. Recommendations: Placental cord drainage should be
encouraged in normal vaginal deliveries and conducting similar studies on a wide range
of
sample in multicenter settings for generalizing the findings.