how many times a day are you supposed to clean a newborns ambilical chord?

Question

do you clean just around the bottom...or all around

Answer 1

all around with a alcohol pad or alcohol soked q tip every time you change the diaper. it will fall off some time between week 2 and week 5 after that continue cleaning the area with alcohol untill the red goes away.

no "in" water bathes till after it falls off.

Answer 2

at bathtime. I never did anything special. My daughters fell of at 4 days old and she had only had 1 bath in this time. I never cleaned it and the nurses didn't tell me too. I just made sure it was kept dry by making sure the nappy was below the navel.
I've gone back and looked at the other answers, guess i didn't do too well. It never got infected was always clean. The nurses said not to use alcohol as that was "old" school. My son was in special care on and off and they didn't do anything there that I know of. My son's fell off in the second week, from memory his went a bit gooey so i cleaned it with water and a cotton ball and kept it dry. i did this for a day and by the next day it was good again. The key i think is to keep it dry and because i used cloth nappies then i was able to make sure the nappy was not on it. They had an "in water" bath as one of the people called it the night they were born by the nurses in special care unit(twins by c-section, i wasn't quite up to it). This was 7 years ago so maybe things changed since then. Think i will google and see what it says. I'm curious now.


Well I did the right thing. Gooey was normal and part of the healing process. I've put a link to the site i looked at.


this is what the yahoo site said
Caring for the umbilical stump
Shortly after birth, the umbilical cord is clamped off and cut a few centimetres from the navel. The cord will gradually shrivel up, turn black and, within about ten days, fall off. In the meantime it is susceptible to infection, particularly if it gets wet or dirty. If your baby's umbilical cord stump stays attached, try and leave it exposed to the air. This will make it dry, heal and detach rapidly. After the cord has withered, a slight discharge is normal. However, seek medical advice if the stump begins to secrete pus or blood, or if the area becomes inflamed - swollen, red and hot to touch.
Do not cover the stump with plastic pants and nappies. If the stump does get wet make sure it is thoroughly dried. Your midwife will advise you on what is best to clean your baby's cord stump. With moist cotton wool, gently wipe the stump. Wipe the surrounding area and the crevices of the navel. The cord stump should be cleaned and dried daily until the area is completely healed.

hope this helps. Good luck with your baby

Answer 3

My baby's pediatracian told us to clean our newborn ambilical cord every time we change her diaper. I found that it is much easier to soak a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol to clean the cord. When you're cleaning the umbilical cord hold the Q-tip in one hand and with your other hand either press down on the sides of the umbilical cord stump or excess skin. This allows greater access to the inside of the cord, where it will stay "wet" longer. You clean it all around, NOT just the bottom.

Answer 4

It depends.

You can keep it really clean, and use an alcohol pad to clean around the bottom at every diaper change. This will keep it supple and looking pretty but it also means it will take a long time to fall off.

Or, you can clean it just once a day (or not at all), and it will get really nasty looking, but there won't be any problem with it, and it will dry out and fall off really quickly.

It's all personal preference.

Answer 5

I didn't mess with my son's umbilical cord until it started looking funny. (about 4 days) Then I started just cleaning around it with alcohol and it fell off within 2 weeks. (I had him in the winter so his belly button was less exposed to air. I don't think it's necessary to clean it every time you change his diaper just as long as it's clean. The doctor actually told me to clean it all the time too, which I didn't do...and my son's pediatrician said that was great and his umbilical cord looked better than most. I don't know...that's what I did but you have to make the decision for yourself!

Answer 6

Ya know, I should know this as I am having a baby is 7 weeks. If i'm not mistaken, you are supposed to clean it everytime you change the diaper. Have you ever used Pampers Swaddlers? I have heard those are good diapers to keep the umbilical cord from getting infected.

Answer 7

DON'T touch it... the latest research on umbilical cord care has determined that it falls off sooner and with less fuss if you simply leave it alone. Alcohol does NOT dry it out quicker. The only time you'd use alcohol is if pee or poo gets in there.

I didn't have this info with my first two babies, and it took 6 WEEKS for each of their umbilical cords to fall out. With my son, his actually had to be burned off (like they do to warts)!

I left my third baby's cord alone, per my doctor's new instructions, and what do you know? It fell off in 10 days, no problemo!

Answer 8

You clean it at every diaper change until it falls off. You clean around and underneath as it starts to loosen with alcohol and a cotton swab. Your baby may cry, but it's because the alcohol is cold, not because you are hurting your baby.

Answer 9

The funny thing is that most doctors still tell mothers to put alcohol on the cord. That makes it stay on longer! I know because I worked with a midwife for a year. Those that put alcohol on it took 3 weeks to fall off. Those that left it alone, fell off the first week. My baby who is 6 weeks now, had hers off by the 5th day. Just leave it alone and it will come off on its own.

Answer 10

I had my son 2.5 years ago, and they said not to do anything with it. Don't clean it, don't alcohol it, just keep it exposed to air and away from water. It fell off in 7 days. I know everyone's baby is different, but my friend very diligently alcoholed her baby's cord every chance she had, and it took almost 4 weeks for her daughter's to fall off.