Does the stump on your baby’s umbilical button make you anxious? Worry not, Mommy. Here’s what you need to know about umbilical stump care.
What can you read in this article?
- Normal vs. infected umbilical cord
- Umbilical cord care – how to take care of the umbilical cord of a newborn
- Umbilical cord healing – when can you expect it to fall off?
When you are pregnant, your baby’s umbilical cord is the “lifeline” that provides important nutrients and oxygen to him while in-utero and connects both of you via your placenta from the sixth week of pregnancy to birth.
After your little one is born, the cord is no longer needed, because now your baby is able to breathe, eat and eliminate waste on his own.
Therefore, the umbilical cord is clamped and cut off at birth (a painless procedure for your baby since the cord does not have any nerve fibers) leaving behind a small stump.
What is left of the umbilical cord is known as the umbilical stump, which you will see attached to your baby’s belly button.
While looking after your baby’s umbilical stump until it falls off is generally an uncomplicated process, there are still a few things new parents should be aware of, including umbilical stump care, which we describe in this article.
Umbilical stump care: This is what an umbilical stump looks like soon after birth. Image source: theAsianparent (Roshni Mahtani)
Umbilical stump care
According to Dr. David Perlstein of E-Medicine Health, your baby’s umbilical stump will usually be cleaned with an antiseptic by the doctor, within the first hour after birth.
This is done to prevent infection from setting in. The clamp will generally be removed from the umbilical stump 24 hours after your baby’s birth, or it could also stay on until the umbilical stump falls off.
For this reason, you need to be very careful with handling your baby’s umbilical stump, especially during diaper changes and bathtime.
On the left: The dried-up umbilical stump soon before falling. On the right: A stump-less, kissable newborn belly button! Image source: theAsianparent (Roshni Mahtani)
What does an umbilical stump look like?
Soon after birth, your little one’s umbilical stump may look white and shiny, and may even feel a bit damp, say the medical experts at WebMD. Over the next few weeks (usually, around two to three), the stump will shrivel up, dry, and heal, changing color to brown, gray, or even black. The stump will usually fall off on its own.
How to take care of the umbilical cord of a newborn at home
Here are some important points to keep in mind in relation to umbilical stump care:
1. Keep it clean
Parents were once told to clean their baby’s stump with rubbing alcohol after each diaper change. But now, health professionals are advising against this practice, and instead recommend that you mostly just leave it alone, thereby encouraging a faster healing process.
A study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) states that
“The use of antibacterial agents to clean and dry the stump of the newborns’ umbilical cord after birth has been abandoned by many neonatal units in favor of dry cord care. Dry cord care is an easy, straight-forward, and safe method of handling the umbilical cord in healthy newborn infants born in a high-income hospital setting,” the researchers added.
Normal vs. infected umbilical cord
Pauline Wee, the assistant director of Nursing at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) recommends cleaning the umbilical stump with cotton balls dipped in cooled boiled water.
If the clamp is still attached, Wee advises that you gently lift it and “clean around the base of the cord and from the base upwards,” while keeping an eye out for a foul smell, pus, or redness around the base, which could be signs of infection*.
Do remember that it’s quite normal to notice a bit of crusting or even dried-up blood near the stump.
2. Keep it dry to facilitate umbilical cord healing
Avoid covering the stump with your baby’s diaper. Instead, you could fold down the upper top part of the diaper to make room for the umbilical stump.
In very warm weather, dress your little one in a diaper and cotton top, which will improve air circulation, helping to dry out the stump. Also, change wet or dirty diapers immediately to help keep your baby dry and also prevent umbilical cord infection.
3. Bath time basics
Sticking to sponge baths during the period when your baby’s stump is healing, is the safest and most practical option when it comes to best-practice stump care, doctors say. You may commence giving the baby a full bath once the stump falls off and the skin where it was attached, heals.
After bathtime and putting diapers, dress your baby in loose-fitting clothing that doesn’t press against the stump or outfits with a special cutout for this area. Choose cotton shirts with snaps or side ties instead of onesies that snap at the crotch for more air circulation and less rubbing.
READ MORE:
What you need to know about caring for your newborn’s umbilical stump
Parents Guide: How often should you give your newborn a bath?
10 things na ipinag-aalala ng mga magulang sa kanilang mga newborn
4. Be patient
You may feel tempted to pull off the stump, especially when it is hanging by a thread. But experts caution against doing this to avoid the risk of umbilical stump infection.
If the umbilical cord is ripped off too early, it could start actively bleeding, meaning every time you wipe away a drop of blood, another drop appears. If you do this and the cord stump continues to bleed, call your baby’s doctor immediately.
5. Air it out
Pediatricians recommend that you expose the stump to fresh air as much as possible to assist in drying it out, especially the base. Your skin-to-skin time with baby, or bringing him out in the morning sun shirtless is the best time to do it.
Umbilical stump care: This is what an umbilical stump looks like after it falls off. Image source: theAsianparent (Roshni Mahtani)
What happens when it falls off?
The stump usually self-detaches within one or two weeks. It’s quite normal to see a raw, red patch of skin where the stump was, or at the bottom of the belly button. This is to be expected. Again, we cannot stress how important it is to leave it alone. Soon enough, normal skin will soon grow over it.
Sometimes, a tiny amount of blood-tinged liquid may ooze out of the naval area, for even up to around two weeks, say doctors. This is quite normal and nothing for you to worry about. But if you notice more profuse bleeding, you should inform your child’s pediatrician immediately.
If the umbilical cord partially fell off, just practice caution and refrain from pulling it out. Just be more careful around it and allow it to dry up and fall off on its own completely. Umbilical cord ripped off too early may lead to infection.
Also, if your child’s umbilical stump has not dried and fallen off after the third week, you should tell your child’s doctor about it as it may be a sign of umbilical cord infection or an immune system disorder.
When the umbilical stump has fallen off and you noticed that your baby can support his head, you can start doing tummy time.
When to seek medical care in relation to your baby’s umbilical stump
According to Dr. Perlstein and other medical experts, the following are the instances when you should consult your baby’s pediatrician without delay:
1. Fever
Any fever (rectal temperature of 100.4° F/38°C or higher) in a newborn is considered a medical emergency. Please seek immediate medical assistance when this happens.
This is what omphalitis looks like. Image by JoDee Anderson, MD, Stanford Medicine
2. Omphalitis
Dr. Perlstein says if you notice any warmth, swelling, redness, or tenderness in the skin around the belly button, or a lot of foul-smelling discharge, you should get your baby to the Emergency unit of your closest hospital without delay.
These symptoms could indicate a potentially life-threatening condition called omphalitis, in which infection occurs in both the umbilical stump and the surrounding area.
This is what an umbilical granuloma looks like. Image from Pinterest.
3. Umbilical granuloma
If there is no redness, warmth, swelling, or fever, yet you see a constant greenish-yellow discharge from your baby’s belly button after the stump falls off, it may be a sign of a condition known as an umbilical granuloma.
This will look like a small nodule of firm, pinkish-red tissue from which the discharge appears, explains Dr. Perlstein.
This condition is easily treatable by your little’s one’s pediatrician, who will probably apply some silver nitrate to the umbilical stump. The doctor may repeat this procedure until the granuloma is healed.
After the treatment, you might notice some dark discharge — this is nothing to worry about. Furthermore, the procedure is not painful to your little one.
4. Persistent bleeding
A little bit of dried blood near the base of the stump is normal. But any persistent and/or significant bleeding from the umbilical stump is cause for concern. Dr. Perlstein explains that it may signify a clotting problem and that you should seek medical help without delay.
An newborn umbilical hernia. Image from Pinterest, rainbowpediatrics.net
5. Umbilical hernia
WebMD says an umbilical hernia may be indicated by bulging tissue around your baby’s belly button. This usually becomes noticeable after the stump falls off. While most umbilical hernias go away on their own, they still need to be monitored by a doctor.
When it comes to caring for your infant’s umbilical stump, remember that less is more. Leave it alone and let it dry. Newborns are tricky and very fragile. So if you have any questions about umbilical stump care or caring for your newborn, don’t hesitate to contact your child’s pediatrician right away.
Republished with permission from theAsianParent Singapore
Source:
E-Medicine Health, Stanford Medicine, MedlinePlus, National Centre for Biotechnology Information, Health Exchange, Singapore
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