Umbilical Cord Care: Do's & Don'ts
During pregnancy, the umbilical cord supplies nutrients and oxygen to your developing baby. After birth, the umbilical cord is no longer needed — so it is clamped and snipped, leaving behind a short stump.
Your newborn baby’s umbilical cord stump typically falls off within one to two weeks after birth. In the meantime, treat your baby’s umbilical cord stump gently.
At home, you should:
- Keep the cord clean and dry: Dip Suzuran Baby Antibacterial Cotton Swab in alcohol to clean around the base of the cord. Make sure to fold down your baby’s diaper to avoid the diaper covering up the stump.
- Stick with sponge baths: Do not give your baby a tub bath until the cord falls off and looks healed. Giving only sponge baths minimizes the chance that the stump gets too wet and doesn’t dry out appropriately in order to fall off.
- Let the stump fall off on its own: Resist the temptation to pull off the stump yourself – this action may accidentally introduce unwanted germs that may lead to a secondary infection.
During the healing process, it is normal to see a little blood near the stump. Much like a scab, the cord stump might bleed a little when it falls off.
Signs of Umbilical Cord Infection
It is rare that a healing umbilical cord stump gets infected, but it can happen. Bring your newborn to a doctor if you notice any of these signs of infection:
- Red, swollen appearance
- A fluid-filled lump on or near your baby's umbilical-cord stump
- Oozing pus or any foul-smelling discharge
- Bleeding from the scab (though a little dried blood is normal)
- Abdominal swelling
- Baby develops a fever, becomes lethargic and doesn’t want to be feed as much
About Suzuran Baby Antibacterial Cotton Swab
Suzuran Baby Antibacterial Cotton Swab is made from 100% pure cotton tips and paper stick, suitable for cleaning cleaning newborn baby's umbilical cord stump and other delicate areas such as ears, nose and other body parts. View more about the product here.
