Taking Care Of The Umbilical Cord

By Author: Ned Shaffer
Total Articles: 332
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The first thing to do following your child is born, will be to cut down the umbilical wire and clamp it. Your doctor or the midwife can perform the cutting and also the clamping, and you are supposed to take care for the umbilical cord till it is fully healed. The stump remaining normally darkens before getting hard and shrivelling in order to fall off within a couple of weeks; However, If the downturn fails to fall off within the first two months following birth, it should after that be burned or even re-tied by the doctor.

The actual cord is normally treated after the cutting and clamping to prevent any form of slump infection. The treatment entails using a dye or even any antiseptic to deal with the freshly cut wound. The procedure may be skipped; as it is, not really mandatory and it will depend on where you give birth. Many maternal hospitals offer this sort of special treatment, which can significantly allay your child's chances of cord infections.
Directions on how to care for the umbilical cord

Always wash your baby with sponge baths before the slump drops -off. After the slump offers fallen-off, ...
... then you can proceed and provide your baby a tub bath. Take extreme care while cleaning the umbilical wire, to prevent inflicting a personal injury that might spur umbilical cord infections. Always use the disinfectant soap to clean your child and a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcoholic beverages to clean the region around the cord.

Use a soft cotton wool to wipe any discharge or bleeding that may occur a few days after the slump has dropped off. Deep the cotton ball into massaging alcohol first prior to wiping, to destroy all the germs discovered around the umbilical cord.

While dressing your baby having a diaper or paper napkin, remember to fold the napkin or the baby diaper below the umbilical cord to reveal the slump region to maximum quantity of air. The dressing should be gentle sufficient, not to irritate the umbilical cord. You can dress your baby in a diaper alone during summer time; or with a loose tee- shirt, to allow the air to circulate and accelerate the drying procedure. You should avoid overdressing you child before the slump falls-off, for a quick healing.

While changing your child's diaper, remember to clean the slump and cord using sterile cotton wool that's dipped in rubbing alcohol. The cleaning should be done each time you change the baby diaper. Be gentle along with careful while washing the delicate slump and cord region. Thoroughly clean the slump twice a day using a cotton ball drizzled with the rubbing alcohol. Some doctors suggest that you leave the wire to dry on its own; and by following that, you may choose to skip the process to allow the cord to heal naturally.

You are warned against pulling off the slump, even if it appears like it is hanging or reduced to a loose line. Leave the slump to fall by itself. The lumpy skin that remains after the downturn has fallen off (called umbilical granulomas), will automatically disappear after a few months and it should not be tampered with. Umbilical granulomas can also be handled by your doctor, if it fails to disappear following a month or two.

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