The fetus in the womb gets nutrients and
oxygen through the placenta connected to the skin inside the uterus. The
umbilical cord is the life line helping the child get things he needs to
develop in the womb. Once the baby is born, the umbilical cord will be held
tightly and cut closely to his body. In the umbilical cord at this time, there
are not any nerves and the cut process will be absolutely harmless and
painless. A plastic pad will be attached to the cord which has just been cut and
that pad will be removed before the baby leaves the hospital. The small
remaining umbilical cord will immediately dry out, harden slowly and turn to
dark brown. It takes about 14 days for the umbilical cord to be dried, removed
from the body and left a small wound which will heal in few days.
It
takes about 14 days for the umbilical cord to be dried, removed from the body
and left a small wound.
The umbilical cord has to be kept dry and
clean. Wrap your baby’s diaper below his umbilical cord to let it expose to air
and not stick urine. When the umbilical cord falls off, you will see some blood
on the diaper and it is very normal. Clean carefully around the umbilical cord
with surgical alcohol and not make alcohol touch healthy skin. Use a dropper to
drop some alcohol to the umbilical surface to allow alcohol to be absorbed into
the body cord. You may replace the dropper by cotton with alcohol but please
notice that the dropper will be more effective and easier to control. Repeat
this action whenever you change the diaper for your baby.
You may ask the doctor when
Your baby has fever or he is annoyed
Umbilicus and surrounding areas are inflamed.
There is pus around the umbilicus
Tips for caring the umbilical cord
When taking care of the umbilical after giving
birth, you need to wash your hands with soap before and after taking care of
the umbilicus for the baby, keep the umbilicus dry and airy or wear your body
loose clothing.
Use chalk which helps heal wounds or surgical
alcohol to take care of the umbilicus.
When the umbilical cord has not dried and
hardened, you need to clean the umbilical area regularly when changing the
diaper.
Just apply alcohol and chalk to the wet and
yellow umbilical area.
Avoid contact with skin
In hot weather, wearing your baby diaper or
underwear only helps the air flow into and boost the process of drying the
umbilical cord. Never pull the umbilical cord, even though it looks about to
fall off the body.
When
the umbilical cord has not dried and hardened, you need to clean the umbilical
area regularly when changing the diaper.
