Sanghavi A, et al. - Researchers intended to determine if there is an association between haematological parameters and C‐reactive protein (CRP) obtained from the cord blood to the first postnatal blood sample, for it to be considered as a reliable alternative. In order to evaluate the haematological parameters (complete blood count) and CRP, a total of 89 paired cord blood and first postnatal blood samples were prospectively analyzed. When Pearson's correlation coefficient for different haematological parameters was calculated, it exhibited a strong correlation coefficient of 0.84 for total leukocyte count, 0.84 for absolute neutrophil count count, 0.87 for immature to total neutrophil ratio and 0.95 for CRP. For haemoglobin, the correlation coefficient was 0.64 and for platelet count was 0.36. According to this prospective observational study, a strong association was found between the majority of haematological parameters and CRP obtained from cord blood with the first postnatal blood sample in preterm neonates, except for platelet count. Umbilical cord blood is therefore a viable and reliable alternative for the assessment of haematological parameters and CRP for the first postnatal blood sample, thus avoiding a painful prick in these fragile preterm neonates.