Newborn baby umbilical cord care and precautions

Many parents pay special attention to the umbilical cord care of their newborn babies, because many parents know that if their child’s umbilical cord is not well cared for, it is very easy to cause infection in the umbilical cord area. Therefore, many parents want to fully understand the umbilical cord care and precautions for newborn babies. The following is a detailed introduction so that you can fully understand it.

Stage 1: Before the umbilical cord falls off

When the umbilical cord is cut, a wound is formed, which is an important portal for bacteria to invade the newborn's body. In mild cases, it can cause omphalitis, and in severe cases, it often leads to sepsis and death. Therefore, the disinfection and care of the umbilical cord is very important: before the umbilical cord falls off, the area must be kept clean and dry, especially the diaper should not cover the navel, so as to avoid wetting the umbilical wound after urination. Always check whether there is any bleeding outside the gauze bandage. If bleeding occurs, it needs to be re-ligated to stop the bleeding. If there is no bleeding, just wipe the base of the umbilical cord with a 75% alcohol cotton swab every day and wait for it to fall off naturally.

Stage 2: After the umbilical cord falls off

After the umbilical cord falls off, there will often be a small amount of exudate in the navel fossa. At this time, you can use a 75% alcohol cotton swab to clean the navel fossa and then cover it with sterilized gauze. In the past, some people advocated applying 1% gentian violet (gentian violet) topically, because gentian violet has bactericidal and astringent effects. However, due to its weak penetrating power, sometimes a scab has formed on the epidermis while an abscess is underneath. Therefore, most people now advocate using a cotton swab dipped in 75% alcohol for disinfection.

But be careful not to sprinkle "anti-inflammatory powder" on the navel to prevent infection. If there is purulent secretion in the umbilical fossa, the surrounding skin is red, swollen, and hot, and the child has anorexia, vomiting, fever, or no increase in body temperature (rectal temperature is lower than 35 degrees Celsius), it indicates omphalitis and the child should go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment immediately.

After a doctor's examination, the baby in good health can be quickly sent to his mother. Under normal circumstances, the umbilical cord falls off 3 to 7 days after birth. But before the umbilical cord falls off, the navel can easily become a breeding ground for bacteria. After the umbilical cord is tied, an umbilical blood vessel is left broken. If the umbilical cord is infected, bacteria and their toxins enter the broken umbilical blood vessel and enter the blood circulation, causing bacteremia. Newborns have low immune function, and bacteremia can quickly develop into sepsis or even septicemia. Therefore, it is very important to care for the umbilical cord stump. Medical staff will carefully carry out disinfection and other measures, and will carefully teach the baby's family how to take good care of the umbilical cord. Once home, parents can provide proper care and attention until the umbilical cord dries and falls off.

(1) Clean your belly button every day

Newborn babies often have secretions in the umbilical fossa. When the secretions dry, the umbilical fossa and the root of the umbilical cord will adhere to each other, making it difficult to clean.

Pus. Therefore, you should thoroughly clean the navel. The method is: dip a cotton swab in 75% alcohol every day, gently lift the ligature of the umbilical cord with one hand, and use the alcohol swab with the other hand to carefully wipe the navel and the root of the umbilical cord so that the umbilical cord is no longer adhered to the navel. Then, use a new alcohol swab to wipe in circles from the center of the navel outward. After cleaning, don't forget to disinfect the ligature with alcohol.

(2) Keep your navel dry

Before the baby's umbilical cord falls off or just falls off and the umbilical socket is not yet dry, make sure to keep the umbilical cord and the umbilical socket dry, because the umbilical cord that is about to fall off is a necrotic tissue and can easily be infected with bacteria. Therefore, once the umbilical cord is soaked with water or urine, it should be immediately wiped dry with a dry cotton ball or clean soft gauze, and then disinfected with an alcohol swab. Your baby should not be bathed in a tub until the umbilical cord falls off. You can wash your upper body first, dry it, and then wash your lower body.

(3) Do not let diapers or clothes rub against the umbilical cord stump

When the umbilical cord has not fallen off or has just fallen off, avoid irritation of the baby's navel by clothes and diapers. You can fold the upper front end of the diaper down a little to reduce the friction of the diaper on the umbilical cord stump.

(4) If the umbilical cord does not fall off

Generally, the baby's umbilical cord will gradually turn black and harden and fall off in 1 to 2 weeks. If the baby's umbilical cord has not fallen off after 2 weeks, you should observe the condition of the umbilical cord carefully. As long as there are no signs of infection, such as no redness, swelling or pus, and no large amount of fluid oozing from the umbilical cord, there is no need to worry. In addition, you can use alcohol to wipe the baby's navel to keep the umbilical cord stump dry, accelerate the shedding of the umbilical cord stump and the healing of the navel.

(5) If there is secretion from the umbilical cord

The healing umbilical cord stump often exudes clear or yellowish, viscous fluid. This is normal fluid seeping from the healing umbilical cord stump. After the umbilical cord falls off naturally, the navel will be a little damp, and a small amount of rice-soup-like liquid will seep out. This is because the surface of the umbilical cord that has fallen off has not yet fully grown, and the liquid in the granulation tissue has seeped out. Just gently wipe it clean with 75% alcohol. Generally, 1 to 2 times a day is enough, and the navel will become dry after 2 to 3 days. Gently wiping the umbilical cord stump with dry gauze can also speed up the healing of the belly button.

combine. If the discharge from the belly button is like pus or has a foul odor, it means that the navel may be infected and you should take your baby to the hospital.

(6) If the umbilical cord is red

Once the umbilical cord stump falls off, the belly button is formed. During the process of the umbilical cord stump falling off, slight redness often appears around the navel. This is a normal phenomenon in the process of the umbilical cord stump falling off, so there is no need to worry. However, if the belly button and surrounding skin become very red and feel hot to the touch, it is likely that the belly button is infected and you should take your baby to see a doctor immediately.

Newborn baby umbilical cord care and precautions. Many parents have fully understood the newborn baby umbilical cord care and precautions through the above detailed introduction. Therefore, after fully understanding, in order to ensure the health of their child’s umbilical cord, they must do a good job of care and have a comprehensive understanding of the precautions, so as to ensure the health of the child’s umbilical cord.