ABSTRACT
Blood will be taken from the umbilical cord after the delivery of the placenta, for two main reasons:
Direct Coomb's – taken alongside a sample of the mother's blood to test for maternal antibodies in the fetal circulation. If present these could potentially lead to rhesus incompatibility, resulting in pathological jaundice. Only a sample of blood from the umbilical vein is required here. Maternal blood is sent for the Kleihauer test.
Blood samples from the vein and artery may be taken using pre-heparinised syringes to assess the degree of acidosis in the fetal blood. These are usually taken after an instrumental birth and after any suspected fetal compromise during a labour.
