How to care for the baby While the fetus is in the abdomen of the mother, they are connected by the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord performs important functions. And after the birth of a crumb, the umbilical cord is cut off, and in the place of the navel a scar is formed, which heals with time. However, very often the umbilical wound does not heal for a long time, since an infection gets into it. To avoid this, you need to properly care for the baby's belly button.


Umbilical cord is a collection of blood vessels of one vein through which the fetus receives oxygen and nutrition inside the placenta. Also, the umbilical cord consists of two arteries, which are necessary for the back circulation of blood from the baby to the mother. All these compounds are covered with a special protective substance, which reduces the risk of damage.

When a baby is born, the umbilical cord is pulled and cut. As a result, the blood flow in the umbilical vessels stops, and the navel heals, forming the navel.

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How to take care of the umbilicus at the maternity hospital?

While the crumb is in the maternity hospital, the doctors themselves handle the umbilical flagella. As a rule, from the umbilical cord, a small piece remains in the crumbs, about two centimeters in size. In hospitals, various methods are used to process the umbilical cord. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages.

Some hospitals practice an open technique for handling the umbilical cord. After circumcision of the umbilical cord, doctors do not apply a bandage to the navel. Instead, they treat it every day with antiseptic solutions. Typically, you use conventional hydrogen peroxide or a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

A safer and more common method is a clamp. After circumcision of the umbilical cord, a special clip is put on the remaining appendage, which does not allow infection to enter the navel. With each passing day the remainder of the umbilical cord dries up and eventually disappears. To speed up this process, doctors treat the navel every day with antiseptics. Thanks to this, after five days the umbilical cord looks like a crust from the wound, which soon disappears with the clamp. The residual wound can dry out for about a week, but it does not cause any discomfort for the crumbs.

Less often than not, doctors use the cutting technique of the blade. On the second day after the birth of the crumbs, the umbilical cord is cut off with the help of a blade. Some doctors believe that thanks to this method, the umbilical cord heals much faster. However, after cutting off on the navel, a tight bandage is applied, which prevents the wound from bleeding. When the bleeding stops, the doctor will weaken the bandage. And the next day the bandage is removed, and the wound has been treated with antiseptics for some time.

When the umbilical cord is completely removed, some "newborns" may have a "cutaneous" navel - this is when the umbilical cord covers the skin from the tummy of the crumbs. This is not dangerous, since after drying the umbilical cord, the skin tissue is retracted and the navel does not externally differ from the normal one.

For ten days after cutting the umbilical cord, the navel heals, and in its place a dense crust forms. If at this time the baby is still in the hospital, the doctors continue to treat the navel with antiseptic drugs once a day. If there are spotting or bloody discharge, the navel is treated several times a day.

If healing takes place without complications, then there should be no excretions. If the discharge is present, even in small amounts, then it is necessary to carefully treat the navel with antiseptics: manganese, hydrogen peroxide and so on. But you can do this no more than three times a day. Sometimes doctors treat the navel with a special sponge, which stops bleeding. Usually one procedure is enough for the umbilical zone to heal quickly.

How to take care of the baby's umbilicus at home?

Today very often mother and baby are discharged from the maternity hospital on the third day. Therefore, care for the navel is at home on their own. Care is very simple. It is necessary to treat the navel zone with antiseptics every day for 10 days. If the navel is cut off with a blade, then it should be processed about four days. If the crust does not heal well and the navel is wet, then the umbilical residue should be lubricated with antiseptics twice a day. At home, for processing instead of potassium permanganate, you can use zelenok or hydrogen peroxide. Suitable and 1% solution of chlorophyllipt.

All antiseptics should be applied very carefully so that there are no burns on the tender skin of the baby. The solution should not fall on the area around the umbilical wound. If you notice that the crust has started to depart, you can speed up its removal. To do this, soak the crust with a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide.

How to care for your belly button when a baby in a diaper?

Almost all diapers are high and cover the umbilical area. However, in order for the umbilicus to heal quickly, it must be open. It is very important to wear the diaper so that it does not cover the area of ​​the navel. There are special diapers that have a cutout on the elastic band in the area of ​​the umbilical process. Therefore, it is better to use these diapers for the first time.

However, sometimes the place of the navel does not coincide with the place of the cutout on the diaper. In such cases, you just need to unscrew the top edge of the diaper. It is very important to change diapers in time, so that urine and fecal remains do not fall on the wound area in the navel. If this happens, then the wound should be treated with zelenok as soon as possible.

Bathing baby and caring for the navel

Previously, doctors did not recommend wetting the wound in the navel until it was completely healed. However, it is now allowed to bathe the crumbs. However, nevertheless, it is not worthwhile to wet the place of cutting the umbilical cord until the clamp disappears. If a little water gets to the wound, nothing terrible will happen. Besides, doctors are bathing in the maternity hospital, and the young mother will be able to see with her own eyes how to do it right. However, there are several rules that need to be observed while bathing a newborn:

  • to bathe the crumbs only in boiled water;
  • when bathing in water it is not necessary to add potassium permanganate, it is better to replace it with a decoction from the turn.

After bathing, the wound in the navel should be treated with an antiseptic. What can not be done while taking care of the navel?

Do not touch the wound with your fingers throughout the process of healing the umbilical cord. This, of course, will not cause the baby painful feelings, but in this way you can put the infection in the wound. From there, the infection can get into the bloodstream of the crumbs, which will lead to serious consequences. Because of this, catarrhal omphalitis, purulent omphalitis and other pathologies can develop. Therefore, when handling the navel, you should use only gauze and cotton swabs. Also, before handling the navel, you should carefully wash your hands with a disinfectant.

If the wound in the navel area does not heal for two weeks and does not dry out and remains moist, you should immediately consult a doctor. The same thing should be done if purulent or spotting began to appear from the wound.

Fully crust can dry only if it is outdoors. Therefore, it is not necessary to cover the umbilical area with bandages or diapers.