Give your baby a sponge bath to keep the cord dry. Many baby bathtubs are gently sloped. This helps you position your baby for a sponge bath and helps you keep the umbilical cord from getting wet.
When the umbilical cord becomes wet with urine, gently clean the base of the umbilical cord with mild soap and warm water. Rinse the area and pat it dry. Keep the belly button area dry.
Keep the stump dry.
Researchers now say this might kill bacteria that can help the cord dry and separate. Instead, expose the stump to air to help dry out the base. Keep the front of your baby's diaper folded down to avoid covering the stump.
When your baby is born the umbilical cord is cut and there is a stump left. The stump should dry and fall off by the time your baby is 5 to 15 days old. Keep the stump clean with gauze and water only. Sponge bathe the rest of your baby, as well.
After birth, the cord is clamped and cut. Eventually between 1 to 3 weeks the cord will become dry and will naturally fall off. During the time the cord is healing it should be kept as clean and as dry as possible. A sponge bath is the best way to clean your baby until the umbilical cord falls off.
It is normal for the belly button to look a bit mucky or to have a red spot where the cord used to be. It can also be smelly and have some clear, sticky or brownish ooze that might leave a stain on your baby's nappy or clothes. This is part of the healing process, which may take up to seven days to mend completely.
Some parents decide to keep the remainder of the cord as a keepsake and store it in a special box or scrapbook. One seller on Amazon offers a keepsake box which has spaces designed for a child's umbilical cord, lock of hair and all of their baby teeth.
The umbilical cord is white at birth, but darkens as it dries. It drops off by itself between the 5th and 21st day. Gently clean around the umbilical cord (the folds) every day until it drops off and the belly button is healed.
Only give your newborn sponge baths until the stump of the umbilical cord falls off, which usually happens by about one or two weeks of age. If it remains beyond that time, there may be other issues at play. See the baby's doctor if the cord has not dried up and fallen off by the time the baby is two months old.
Your healthcare provider might tell you to sponge bath your baby until his umbilical cord is healed, but you can give your baby a tub bath as well. Wash the umbilical cord area (cord stump) with water when you bathe your baby.
The application of breastmilk to the cord has been studied as a strategy to prevent cord infection and to speed up the time of cord separation. Breastmilk has bacteria but also bioactive proteins that help fight infection, reduce inflammation, and promote healing.
Bathing: After the cord falls off, continue sponge baths for a few more days. Help the belly button area dry up. Then, tub baths will be fine.
A lotus birth is the decision to leave your baby's umbilical cord attached after they are born. The umbilical cord remains attached to the placenta until it dries and falls off by itself. What are the risks of lotus birth? There are no research studies available on this topic.
Keep the site well lubricated with petroleum jelly/ointment during the healing process so it doesn't adhere to the diaper.
Signs of an Infected Umbilical Cord Stump
A smelly yellow discharge from the stump area. A reddening of the skin around the stump. Swelling of the navel area. Your baby crying when you touch the stump, indicating it is tender or sore.
The umbilical cord contains Wharton's jelly, a gelatinous substance made largely from mucopolysaccharides that protects the blood vessels inside. It contains one vein, which carries oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood to the fetus, and two arteries that carry deoxygenated, nutrient-depleted blood away.
To clean the cord safely, take a cotton swab, cotton square or cotton round and clean around the base of the umbilical cord with clean water. Remember to avoid covering the cord with the diaper, because the cord area should be kept dry and clean at all times.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends supervised tummy time for full-term babies starting in the first week, as soon as your baby's umbilical cord stump falls off. For newborns, success is a minute at a time, 2 to 3 sessions per day. If they start crying, it's time for a break.
Unless donated, the placenta, umbilical cord, and stem cells they contain are discarded as medical waste.
Although privately banked cord blood is not likely to help your baby, it may help a sibling who has an illness that could be treated with a stem cell transplant. These include leukemia, sickle cell disease, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and thalassemia.
Keep the cord as dry as possible. You may wish to use a nappy which has been specifically shaped to fit around the cord, or you can fold down the front of your baby's nappy so you don't cover the cord. Keep the cord and area surrounding it clean.
Common signs of umbilical cord problems include an irregular fetal heartbeat and decreased or low fetal movement. Umbilical cord problems can be a serious threat to the child's health and should be carefully monitored and treated as necessary.