Proper umbilical cord care for babies

The umbilical cord is the carrier that transports nutrients from the mother's body to the baby during pregnancy . When the baby is born, proper umbilical cord care is very important. It helps mothers prevent irritation and infection for the baby after this stem falls off.

Therefore, mothers need to know how to take care of the baby so that the umbilical area is always clear and healed quickly.

Common myths when caring for a newborn umbilical cord

Wrap the baby's navel area too well

Many mothers often think that wrapping the baby's umbilical area carefully will help the baby avoid the risk of infection and help the baby's umbilical beauty heal. However, this is not a way to care for the umbilical cord that is not under the guidance of pediatricians.

The umbilical cord dressing is too tight to squeeze the baby's navel area, preventing the umbilical cord from coming into contact with air, so the baby's navel is always in a wet state. This can cause unfortunate consequences, mild inflammation, and worse, an infection of the umbilical cord.

Wash your baby's umbilical cord every day

Bathing and bathing for the baby's body every day is a good thing. However, this should not apply to your baby's immature umbilical cord.

In fact, a newborn 's umbilical cord always needs to be dry and airy. Washing your baby's umbilical cord every day is unnecessary because it will keep your baby's navel area wet, creating favorable conditions for bacteria to multiply and develop.

Use the diaper back to press on the umbilical area to increase the resistance to infection

Similar to wrapping your baby's umbilical cord too closely, using the diaper back to put pressure on the baby's navel area to increase resistance to infection is not scientifically sound.

On the contrary, this approach can cause the baby's navel to be damaged by constant rubbing and more susceptible to "infection" of bacteria from the child's feces and urine .

How to take care of a newborn umbilical cord properly?

Always keep your navel dry, airy and clean

Expose your baby's umbilical cord to the air as often as possible. This allows the umbilical cord to dry quickly and minimizes the time wet to avoid the risk of infestation by harmful bacteria.

If the weather is hot and humid, let your baby wear a light, thin shirt with a suitable diaper to keep the navel well ventilated.

Do not clean or wash the umbilical cord with water or soap

If your baby's umbilical cord is not dirty or has mucus, you absolutely should not wipe, wash with water or soap . In particular, when bathing your baby , find ways to avoid splashing water or soap on the umbilical cord because this can easily make the umbilical cord wet, inflamed or irritated with soap.

In the event that your baby's umbilical cord is dirty or has mucus, use a cotton swab or dry, clean, disinfected cloth gently to wipe the dirty area. Check with your pediatrician before cleaning your baby's umbilical cord with any solution or detergent .

Observe your baby's umbilical cord every day for any abnormalities

Until the baby's umbilical cord is dry, healed and falls off, every day it is at risk of bacteria invading, causing infection. Therefore, mothers need to take care of the baby's navel, keep it open and observe the umbilical cord every day to quickly detect abnormalities such as redness, odor , yellow fluid, bleeding ... Please quickly take your child to the hospital so that the doctor can check the situation and have a way to correct it.