UMBILICAL CORD STUMP CARE
Congratulations! You have successfully completed delivery of your newborn baby. Your belongings are packed and your discharge from the hospital has been finalized. As you strap your infant into his or her new (mandatory) car seat, you breathe a sigh of relief. The pregnancy is over and a new chapter of life with baby begins.
After a night alone with your new infant, you wake up feeling refreshed and ready for a new day. After you dress yourself , you are ready to dress your baby. You quickly gather all of your new baby bath care items. There’s a ton of stuff. You start admiring the new baby lotions, powders, and washes. But wait just one minute. There are some very important rules for “bathing” your newborn.
Initial inspection of your newborns belly button my be shocking. The newborns umbilical cord is clamped and can range in color. Within approximately 15 days after birth, the umbilical cord stump should shrivel, turn black, and fall off. Special care should be taken to prevent infection in the umbilical cord area.
The following techniques should be observed until the umbilical cord stump falls off.
Keep the umbilical cord stump dry. Leave the umbilical cord stump open to air as much as possible. Many newborn diapers are designed with the newborn umbilical cord stump in mind. These diapers feature a small cut out to allow the umbilical cord stump to be left uncovered. If these types of diapers are not available, don’t panic! Just fold down the front of a regular diaper to allow exposure of the umbilical cord stump. Be sure to change wet and soiled diapers frequently to keep the umbilical cord stump from getting irritated.
Keep the umbilical cord stump clean. There is still some debate among experts as to how to effectively observe this rule. Some experts advice is to stick to applying rubbing alcohol to the stump following every diaper change. Other experts say that the umbilical cord stump may fall off sooner if left alone. These experts are advising new parents to carefully wash the umbilical cord stump with soap and water if it becomes dirty. They then advise carefully drying the stump.
Sponge bath until the umbilical cord stump falls off. Don’t be so eager to immerse your infant in a full bath just yet! Sponge baths are fine for baby. Remember to observe all the goals in umbilical cord stump care. A fully immersed infant can be difficult to dry.
Allow the umbilical cord stump to fall off on its own. Resist the urge to remove the umbilical cord stump yourself. The umbilical cod stump will fall off when the skin underneath is healed. Don’t make your baby’s umbilical cord area an increased infection risk because of lack of patience.
Following the golden rules of umbilical cord stump care is important. Parents should also learn the signs of umbilical cord stump infection which include the following:
A reddened or inflamed umbilical cord stump area
Foul smelling discharge oozing from the umbilical cord stump area
Active bleeding from the umbilical cord stump area
Infantile fever
If any of these symptoms occur, your newborn’s healthcare provider should be contacted to further instruct you.
Remember, there will be plenty of time to lather your baby up with all sortsof bath aides after the umbilical cord stumps falls off. Until the stump falls off, it is invaluable to follow the rules of umbilical cord stump care.
