Coagulation studies on umbilical arterial and venous blood from normal newborn babies.

Coagulation studies using conventional methods and chromogenic substrates were performed on umbilical arterial and venous blood from 33 newborns after delivery. In the arterial samples, thrombin time (TT) was significantly prolonged and the activities of factors I, II, V and VII, as well as the inhibitors heparin, antithrombin III and antiplasmin, were significantly decreased. This could probably be explained by a mild form of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) occurring in the baby during delivery.