You will never understand why parents see the umbilical cord clamp as a souvenir until you have your own baby. The cord joins the baby to the placenta making it an emotional attachment to the carrier; this goes way deeper than simply being an incubation period reminder. Normally after a child is born, the umbilical cord is cut off, but a bit of it remains still attached to the navel. It’s a painless process as the cord has no nerves which make it numb to pain, the attached stump then stays on until it shrivels and falls off in about one to two or so.
The quest of who should cut the umbilical cord is a cognitive discussion that both parents must have before delivery. One of the lessons taught during the delivery classes, is to plan things with your partner, make concrete decisions together and run them by your doctor, so he would be part of the plan. The umbilical cord has a special attachment to the parents so keeping the stump clamp after it falls off is a big deal for them.
However, as you wait on the stump to dry up and fall off, it is important that you accord it a high level of hygiene, keep it clean and dry always to avoid infections.
How to care for the umbilical cord stump
Wash your hands clean and pat then dry before handling the baby in any way could be caring, breastfeeding, changing the diaper, dressing or bathing the baby. The umbilical stump should be kept clean and dry to avoid contamination. Also dress the baby in loose clothes to allow fresh air through the stump.
Choose to sponge bath the baby using a warm moist sponge or flannel for easy maintenance of the umbilical stump. It is okay to use plain water or add a little cleanser but pat the baby dry with a clean, soft towel immediately after bath. The water will neither slow down the healing nor cause any infection as long as it’s clean and dried immediately after bath. Then remember to keep the baby warm afterwards.
When dressing your baby in either diaper or nappy, fold down the upper part of the diaper or nappy to avoid irritating the wound and also allow free circulation of fresh air on the stump, Alternatively buy diapers with cut on, they are purely meant for one to two weeks old newborns and are designed to accommodate the umbilical cord stump.
Keeping the stump clan and dry is good enough, it is better if you do not use antiseptics on the wound. Using antiseptics means prolonging the healing period as you will be killing the bacteria which is what the stump needs to dry and fall off.
In case of premature birth, the baby will spend more time under the special unit care. There will be no bath for a long time but that doesn’t mean the stump is safe, talk to the nurses on the neonatal care unit for advice on how to care for the stump.
Trust in the process, it may take about a week, two or slightly longer before the stump falls off. Do not be a catalyst and bring your baby more harm, resist removing or trying to pull it off no matter how loosely attached it looks. Pulling it off may cause bleeding which is another complication you do not want to see your baby through, be patient.
How to know when the stump has an infection
When nursing the stump it is important to be extra watchful, seeing a little blood may be okay, but even at that you should know when it is necessary to either call or visit a doctor. Be mindful of when the stump falls off because falling off early can as well be risky; also watch out for the obvious infection signs as listed here:
- Reddish, swollen, and painful like navel
- Any form of oozing pus or bad odor from the stump
- Check if the baby is lethargic, has no interest in feeding of just looks unwell
- Spot any fever or extreme high temperature
- Any sign of a fluid-filled lump near the stump
- Excess or continuous bleeding from the scab
- Abdominal swelling
It’s not a regular thing for umbilical cords to get infected, but just in case do not self-medicate as this may be beyond antibacterial, call of visit a doctor.
When does the belly button heal after the fall off?
After the fall off comes a little amount of blood stained fluid oozing out of the belly button, it is nothing to worry about as it should dry up in a few. The cord will then form granuloma (a yellowish kind of discharge) that will also dry up in about a week but under antiseptic care. The healing process should run for about 10 days and anything beyond that is a concern that must be reported to your baby’s doctor. The healed wound then becomes the baby’s belly button.
Cutting of the baby’s umbilical cord sounds like those chaotic or horror movies we watch, on one hand you find it interesting, but on the other it is so emotion wrecking. Then comes the nostalgic part of what to do with the cord, it’s all merry until the cord is off and you are left with the stump to care for.
While this may sound so easy, it may also interest you to know that it takes a lot of work, care and dedication to see a child through this crucial stage. You are here, straight out of the delivery room still trying to regain your strength amidst the joy of having a newborn. In your exhausted state you feel elated about being able to dress up your little one the way you want, and then comes the barrier that is the umbilical stump. If you’ve never gone through a physically, psychologically and emotionally breakdown then you won’t understand why the falling off of a belly button peg is a big deal for a new mother.
Did you panic when the umbilical cord stump didn’t fall off in the number of days the doctor said? How did you feel when it finally came off?