Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Carl Backes, MD

Code:

NCT06153459

Conditions

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Umbilical Cord Clamping at ~30 seconds

Umbilical Cord Clamping at ~120 seconds

Umbilical Cord Milking

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare 2 different timepoints for clamping the umbilical cord at birth for term-born infants with a prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD). The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does Delayed Cord Clamping at 120 seconds (DCC-120) or Delayed Cord Clamping at 30 seconds (DCC-30) after birth lead to better health outcomes?
  • Does DCC-120 seconds or DCC-30 seconds after birth lead to better neuromotor outcomes at 22-26 months of infant age (postnatal)?

Participants will be asked to do the following:

  • Participate in either DCC-120 or DCC-30 at birth (randomized assignment).
  • Complete General Movements Assessment (GMA) at 3-4 months of infant age (postnatal), complete questionnaires / surveys at this time.
  • Complete questionnaires / surveys at 9-12 months of infant age (postnatal).
  • Complete Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE), Developmental Assessment of Young Children 2 Edition (DAYC-2), and questionnaires / surveys at 22-26 months of infant age (postnatal).
  • Permit data collection from electronic medical records for both the mother and infant study participants.

Investigators will compare DCC-120 vs. DCC-30 to see which approach is more beneficial to both the mother and baby with CHD.

Conditions

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)

Study ID

NCT06153459

Start date

Dec 19, 2023

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Dec, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Oct, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion criteria are listed below and will be confirmed prior to randomization:

1. Fetal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) by prenatal ultrasound / echocardiography from local fetal ECHO, conducted on or after 18 weeks of gestation and prior to randomization. The study fetal diagnosis of CHD must be rated as 3 - 6 on the Fetal Cardiovascular Disease Severity Score (FCDSS), as determined by independent evaluators at the CORD-CHD trial ECHO Core at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (to determine final FCDSS eligibility for randomization).

For each potential participant that has provided consent, the most relevant diagnostic prenatal ultrasound will be uploaded (shared) between 32 weeks of gestation and randomization for review by the ECHO Core. The ECHO Core will make the final FCDSS determination for eligibility status and stratification assignment.\]

\[NOTE: A fetal diagnosis of CHD rated as 3 - 6 FCDSS per local review, including borderline cases, will be used to determine preliminary eligibility for consent. Among borderline cases, eligible patients will be included if there is a reasonable expectation of the need for surgery or cardiac catheterization during the birth hospitalization.\]
2. Singleton gestation.
3. Gestational age at randomization for impending deliveries between 37 0/7 - 41 6/7 weeks of gestation inclusive based on clinical information and evaluation of the earliest ultrasound determined using criteria proposed by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

\[NOTE: Pregnant individuals who were admitted to the delivery hospital prior to 37 0/7 weeks of gestation remain eligible to randomize, provided they deliver within the 37 0/7 and 41 6/7 weeks "eligibility window". Alternatively, if an eligible dyad is randomized at or just prior to 41 6/7 weeks, they remain in trial.\]
4. Consent for the participant and their infant

Exclusion criteria are listed below and will be confirmed prior to randomization:

Exclusion Criteria for Pregnant Individuals:

1. Pregnant individual is a gestational carrier or surrogate.
2. Compromise of the pregnant individual (e.g., vasa previa, placental accreta with hypotension, placental abruption, amniotic fluid embolism, uterine rupture, uterine inversion, disseminated intravascular coagulation), as determined by local care team

\[NOTE: There is no limitation on pregnant individual's age\]

Fetal Exclusion Criteria:

1. Fetal demise or planned termination of pregnancy prior to randomization
2. Tachyarrhythmia requiring transplacental therapy
3. Fetal hydrops, severe
4. Planned fetal surgery
5. Diaphragmatic hernia, omphalocele, gastroschisis, intestinal atresia
6. Major chromosomal defects (e.g., Trisomy 13, 18) identified prenatally; Trisomy 21 is allowed
7. Disease or disorder impacting candidacy for neonatal cardiac interventions
8. Parents choosing to limit treatment

Pregnancy Exclusion Criteria:

1. Delivery planned at an institution not affiliated with or does not refer to a CORD-CHD participating site
2. Participation in another prenatal interventional study that influences cord clamping or perinatal morbidity or mortality

Study Design

Enrollment

500 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

active comparator: Delayed Cord Clamping at 30 Seconds (DCC-30)

The umbilical cord will be clamped between 1 - <60 seconds following delivery, with a goal of around 30 seconds.

active comparator: Delayed Cord Clamping at 120 Seconds (DCC-120)

The umbilical cord will be clamped at 60 - 180- seconds following delivery, with a goal of around 120 seconds.

In the DCC-120 group, if there is concern for pregnant individual or baby and their doctor is not able to wait until at least 60 seconds, the doctor may do cord milking, which is four gentle squeezes of the umbilical cord pushing blood from the placenta to baby.

Interventions

Umbilical Cord Clamping at ~30 seconds

Care team will wait to clamp the umbilical between 1-<60 seconds after birth. 30 seconds is the ideal time of clamping.

Umbilical Cord Clamping at ~120 seconds

Care team will wait to clamp the umbilical cord between 60-180 seconds after birth.120 seconds is the ideal time of clamping

Umbilical Cord Milking

For infants who need their cord clamped before the target in the DCC-120 group. Care team may milk the umbilical cord towards the infant four times. Cord milking should NOT be performed if the delay meets or exceeds 60 seconds.

Umbilical cord milking will not be provided among participant-infant dyads in the DCC-30 group.

Primary outcome measure

  • Global Rank Score (Infant participant) [ Time Frame: Up to 30 days post-discharge following congenital heart disease intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Locations

Children's of Alabama

Recruiting

Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35233

Contacts

Andrea Kane, MD

akane@uabmc.edu

Principal Investigator:

Andrea Kane, MD

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Recruiting

Los Angeles, California, United States, 90048

Contacts

Ruchira Garg, MD

ruchira.garg@cshs.org

Principal Investigator:

Ruchira Garg, MD

Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Woman and Newborns

Recruiting

San Diego, California, United States, 92123

Contacts

Anup Katheria, MD

anup.katheria@sharp.com

Jenny Koo, MD

Jenny.Koo@sharp.com

Principal Investigator:

Anup Katheria, MD

UF Health Shands Children's Hospital

Recruiting

Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32608

Contacts

Jennifer Co-Vu, MD

jcovu@mail.ufl.edu

Principal Investigator:

Jennifer Co-Vu, MD

Johns Hopkins Children's Center

Recruiting

Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287

Contacts

Victoria Surma, MD

vsurma1@jhmi.edu

Principal Investigator:

Victoria Surma, MD

Children's of Mississippi

Recruiting

Jackson, Mississippi, United States, 39216

Contacts

Simon Karam, MD

skaram@umc.edu

Principal Investigator:

Simon Karam, MD

The Children's Mercy Hospital

Recruiting

Kansas City, Missouri, United States, 64108

Contacts

John Daniel, MD

jmdaniel@cmh.edu

Principal Investigator:

John Daniel, MD

SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital

Recruiting

St Louis, Missouri, United States, 63104

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Justin Josephsen, MD

Duke Children's Hospital & Health Center

Recruiting

Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27705

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Kevin Hill, MD

Nationwide Children's Hospital

Recruiting

Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43205

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Carl Backes, MD

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Recruiting

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104

Contacts

Elizabeth Foglia, MD

foglia@chop.edu

Principal Investigator:

Elizabeth Foglia, MD

Medical University of South Carolina

Recruiting

Columbia, South Carolina, United States, 29209

Contacts

Sinai Zyblewski, MD

chois@musc.edu

Principal Investigator:

Sinai Zyblewski, MD

Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt

Recruiting

Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232

Contacts

Prince Kannankeril, MD

prince.kannankeril@vumc.org

Principal Investigator:

Prince Kannankeril, MD

Texas Children's Hospital

Recruiting

Houston, Texas, United States, 77030

Contacts

Nathan Sundgren, MD, PhD

ncsundgr@texaschildrens.org

Principal Investigator:

Nathan Sundgren, MD, PhD

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Recruiting

San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78229

Contacts

J.B. Cantey, MD

cantey@uthsca.edu

Principal Investigator:

J.B. Cantey, MD

Primary Children's Hospital

Recruiting

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84113

Contacts

Ryan Carpenter, MD

ryan.carpenter@hsc.utah.edu

Principal Investigator:

Ryan Carpenter, MD

Stollery Children's Hospital, University of Alberta

Recruiting

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Contacts

Brenda Law, MD

blaw2@ualberta.ca

Principal Investigator:

Brenda Law, MD

IWK Health Centre

Recruiting

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Walid El-Naggar, MD

More Information

Sponsor

Carl Backes, MD

Last update posted

Aug 12, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Keywords

  • cord clamping
  • echocardiography (ECHO)
  • congenital heart disease (CHD)
  • CORD-CHD

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-08. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Carl Backes, MD on 2026-08-12.