Proper care of baby's umbilical cord

A newborn's navel usually falls off after 1-2 weeks. Before and after the navel falls off, parents need to take proper care to avoid infection and many complications.

Dr. Nguyen Do Trong, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery - Pediatric Surgery, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that when a baby is born, the obstetrician uses sterile instruments to clamp and cut the umbilical cord, leaving only a small section called the umbilical stump. Normally, the umbilical stump will dry and fall off within 7-14 days after birth. However, improper hygiene can cause the baby's navel to become damaged, red, swollen, and leak fluid. These are warning signs that the baby may have an infection, inflammation, umbilical granuloma, umbilical hernia, umbilical necrosis, etc.

Infection of the navel and surrounding tissue after the navel falls off has typical symptoms such as: navel falls off with discharge, redness, swelling, pus, sometimes just oozing or slight bleeding.

Umbilical inflammation is a common condition that occurs after the umbilical cord falls off in newborns. Children often experience symptoms such as: swelling of the umbilical area with yellow discharge, fever, and fussiness.

Umbilical granuloma is a reddish tissue that remains at the base of the umbilical cord after it falls off. If left untreated, the granuloma will ooze fluid and cause prolonged inflammation. Treatment includes topical medication or electrocautery in the operating room.

Parents need to pay attention to properly cleaning their child's navel to avoid infections and umbilical diseases. Photo: Freepik — Parents need to pay attention to properly cleaning their child's navel to avoid infections and umbilical diseases. Photo: *Freepik*

Umbilical hernia is a disease that 10-20% of newborns may encounter. After the umbilical cord falls off, the child has a defect in part of the abdominal wall muscles, part of the intestine comes out of the defect, creating a bulge. The bulge gets bigger when the child cries or twists and gets smaller when the child lies still. Umbilical hernia is painless, does not rupture, and usually improves on its own after 4 years old. In cases where the hernia is larger than 2.5 cm and the child is over 2 years old and still has a hernia, surgery is required.

Umbilical necrosis often occurs after a child has an umbilical infection. Typical symptoms are umbilical discharge or bleeding, the tissue around the umbilical cord is red or bruised, and the discharge from the umbilical cord has an unpleasant odor.

Another possible case is the existence of the umbilical-urinary canal or the umbilical-intestinal canal. After the umbilical cord falls off, until one year of age or even later, the baby's navel is constantly wet. It may be due to the "communication" of the navel with the urinary system or digestive tract, leading to frequent leakage of urine or digestive juices. The child needs to be examined and treated by a pediatric surgeon to avoid complications such as infection, abscess or malignancy...

According to Dr. Trong, children with umbilical cord-related diseases can have many different causes and severity. Usually, children may have digestive disorders, fussiness, refusal to breastfeed, bloating, and red and swollen body. More seriously, umbilical cord infections can cause blood poisoning in newborns, which is quite rare but has a very high mortality rate. In addition, the condition can also cause children to be infected with umbilical tetanus without being vaccinated.

Parents need to pay attention to properly cleaning the baby's navel to limit the risk of infection and related diseases by:

Before bathing and cleaning the baby's navel, parents need to wash their hands thoroughly with hand sanitizer to reduce the risk of bacterial infection; always keep the baby's umbilical cord dry and clean; every day, use a gauze pad or cotton swab soaked in a little antiseptic alcohol to clean the baby's navel.

Note that when wearing diapers for children, do not let the diaper press against the umbilical cord. After each time the child goes to the toilet or bathes, the baby's navel can easily get wet, so parents should change the baby's umbilical cord bandage. The operations must be sterile, gentle, and the umbilical cord bandage should not be too tight. In addition, the living space must be clean, free of dust, chemicals, and cigarette smoke. The baby's clothes, blankets, and pillows must be changed daily.

Some babies may have a slower umbilical cord fall off. In these cases, parents should not worry too much and should not pull the baby's umbilical cord.

After the umbilical cord falls off, parents should observe and recognize symptoms of infection. When the child has the above symptoms, they should be taken to the hospital for examination, diagnosis and timely treatment.

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