Umbilical cord blood gas
A trained midwife double clamped the umbilical cord within three minutes
of birth (minimum distance between clamps = 10 cm). Blood samples were
taken from both the umbilical artery and vein using a pre-heparinized 1
mL syringe. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide
(PCO2), partial pressure of oxygen
(PO2), oxygen saturation, and pH of both samples were
analyzed using a GEM Premier 4000 blood analyzer (GEM Premier 4000:
Instrumentation Laboratory, Bedford, MA,)20.