Umbillical Cord Care For Newborns

 

The funiculus umbilicalis joins fetus to his mother and is used for supplying nutrition to the baby while in womb. Umbillical cord care is necessary for good health of your baby. If not cared properly than it may lead to infection or complications in the later stage of baby. The birth of baby could be at hospital or at home. You should have a very experienced nurse or obstetrician to carry out birth procedure at home.

You can go for umbillical cord blood banking as well. The cord blood is rich in stem cell and could be very useful to their siblings who are suffering from sickle-cell anaemia or leukaemia. It is an affordable and non invasive procedure and an alternative for bone marrow transplant. The blood collection has to be immediately done at the time of birth and therefore prior notification to doctor should be done for necessary procedure.

The main step in funiculus umbilicalis care is to detach it from baby. Medical clamps are first placed it to prevent excessive blood loss from open blood vessels. The clamping should be immediate otherwise baby may suffer from jaundice and low white blood cell count in the future. It is then kept in antiseptic dye solution to prevent infection.

The umbillical cord dries and falls off its own but it takes 3 to 8 weeks so for this period you need to take care of it. Use dry care procedures like applying 70% antiseptic alcohol solution to prevent bacterial infection. It is very important to expose the funiculus umbilicalis to air. This makes drying process faster.

You can also go for baby soap bath once in a day with slightly warm water. This helps to keep area clean and removes any discharge around it. Use only baby soap having mild cleansing property because baby skin is very sensitive. Pay attention to signs of infection like pus formation, swelling, fever and redness. Fold the diapers to expose drying stump to air till it comes out.

Keep moist tissues with you all the time. Wipe the abdomen area with help of it for keeping it clean all the time. Use antiseptic hand wash lotion for cleansing your hands properly. Infection can easily transmit from your hand to baby. Babies do not have a well-developed immune system and therefore you should take care while touching them.

Babies who were born prematurely require more attention as compared to normally born babies.

Consult your pediatrician and hospital staff on how to take particular care of your baby. Use cotton swab for cleaning it, as it can reach deeper into curved surface of the drying cord. Be agile while cleaning the funiculus umbilicalis, pressure may cause it to stay longer. The cord will come off on its own when it is dry and dead.

There is one more procedure called as sealing. This makes healing process faster and helps to heal infected funiculus umbilicalis. This can be done by medical health practitioner, nurse or a doctor. Be proactive in funiculus umbilicalis management.