Teen Pregnancy Forum - Umbilical Cord Care

What is the purpose of the umbilical cord?
Babies receive nourishment and oxygen in the womb through the placenta, which is connected to the inner wall of the mother's uterus. The placenta is connected to the baby by the umbilical cord through an opening in the baby's stomach. After the baby is born, the umbilical cord is clamped and cut close to the body in a painless procedure, leaving an umbilical stump.

How long will my child have an umbilical stump?
Within 10 to 21 days, the stump will dry up and drop off, leaving a small wound that may take a few days to heal.

Does the stump require special care?
It must be kept clean and dry. Fold the baby's diaper below the stump so it's exposed to the air and not to urine (when the stump falls off, you may detect a little blood on the diaper, which is normal).

While waiting for the cord to heal, avoid tub baths until the area heals over completely, usually about seven to 10 days after the stump falls off.

In warm weather, keep your baby only in a diaper and t-shirt to let air circulate and aid the drying process. Avoid bodysuit-style undershirts until the cord has fallen off.

Sometimes, when the umbilical stump takes a long time to heal, bits of lumpy flesh — a type of connective tissue — appear in the wound. They're not a cause for concern and will soon disappear.

As for the time-honored practice of swabbing the stump with rubbing alcohol, the waters have become murky. To prevent infection, healthcare practitioners have long recommended cleaning off the base of the stump with a cotton swab or gauze pad dipped in a little bit of rubbing alcohol, and the american academy of pediatrics still supports that practice. But a recent canadian study suggests that leaving well enough alone actually may help the cord heal faster.

A recent study at the kitchener-waterloo health centre and mcmaster hospital in ontario took 1,800 newborns and swabbed half of their cords with alcohol and let the other half's cords heal naturally. On average, the untreated cords healed in eight days, while it took 10 for the alcohol-swabbed cords to fall off. None of the infants in either group developed an infection.

The researchers speculate that alcohol kills all the bacteria, even the good kind that helps the cord dry up and fall off. Already, some hospitals have begun telling new parents to abandon the alcohol swabbing practice. If you're in a quandary about what to do, talk to your child's pediatrician.

What are the signs of infection?
Consult your healthcare provider if:
• your child develops a fever or appears unwell

• the navel and the surrounding area become swollen or red

• pus appears at the base of the stump

does anyone save their child's umbilical stump?
Most parents are all too happy to bid the umbilical stump adieu, and they can hardly imagine wanting to see it again. But someone else may wish to see it so it's up to you. One woman we know was asked by her 5-year-old daughter if she could take her stump to school to show her friends. It appears another child had brought hers in for show-and-tell and it was quite the hit. The girl was devastated to find that her mother had tossed it out.

Kristin