Controversy has long existed about whether it is best to clamp and cut the umbilical cord for full-term infants immediately after the birth, later within 2–3 minutes, or after the cessation of pulsation in cord vessels. The discussion has more recently been complicated by the decisions about collection of umbilical cord stem cells and umbilical cord blood collection for blood gas analysis, which in both cases have typically been carried out following early clamping of the umbilical cord