How To Care For Babys Umbilical Cord
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How To Care For Your Baby’s Umbilical Cord

How To Care For Your Baby'S Umbilical Cord - Parenting - 2023

Bringing a newborn home is always exciting yet scary – there are several things that you need to take care of and one of them is cord care. Read some tips to help you care for baby’s umbilical cord. 👶

Caring For Your Baby’s Umbilical Cord

Your baby’s umbilical cord stump dries out and eventually falls off — usually within one to three weeks after birth. In the meantime, treat the area gently:

  • Keep the stump dry. Parents were once instructed to swab the stump with rubbing alcohol after every diaper change. Researchers now say this might kill bacteria that can help the cord dry and separate. Instead, expose the stump to the air to help dry out the base. Keep the front of your baby’s diaper folded down to avoid covering the stump.
  • Stick with sponge baths. While there’s no harm in getting the stump wet, sponge baths might make it easier to keep the stump dry.
  • Let the stump fall off on its own. Resist the temptation to pull off the stump yourself.

Signs of a problem

During the healing process, it’s normal to see a little blood near the stump. Much like a scab, the cord stump might bleed a little when it falls off.

However, contact your baby’s doctor if the umbilical area oozes pus, the surrounding skin becomes red and swollen, or the area develops a pink moist bump. These could be signs of an umbilical cord infection. Prompt treatment is needed to stop the infection from spreading.

Also, talk to your baby’s doctor if the stump still hasn’t separated after three weeks. This might be a sign of an underlying problem, such an infection or immune system disorder.

Do you have your own Umbilical Cord care tips?

If you have your own tips that worked for you. Please share them with other new moms in our comments below.

📸 via @bumpbubnbeyond on Instagram

 

Originally posted 2021-03-03 11:39:58.

6 Comments

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  1. Ew really😭 I thought you just leave it alone and it just falls off like how a puppies does… why does it need to be cared for tho I’m confused someone please explain 😅

  2. Wait the cord stays?!?! I thought the doctorrs just took it off and bam! you have a belly button. This is why we need these classes in HS i graduated 2 years ago and never learned this shit in child development courses at school

  3. Awww,,,we didn’t use alcohol as per the nurses instructions we just watched it closely. We didn’t give more than a sponge bath till it fell off.

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Written by Claire

Claire is our Community Manager here at New Moms Forum. A mom of two (almost grown-up babies), Claire has been building and operating community-based websites for almost 20 years. In her downtime, Claire enjoys spending time with her family and drinking copious amounts of red wine!

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