How Do You Clean And Care For A Newborn Babys Umbilical Cord Stump?
After the umbilical cord is cut, there will remain a dried up stump on your little newborn for days or weeks. It will eventually fall off, but it needs to be cleaned and kept dry so that it does not become infected. Here is a step by step process of how to effectively clean your newborn’s cord stump. Always be gentle with a newborn’s stump. It is like a scab that is trying to heal, so be patient when waiting for the scab to come off. NEVER PULL ONE OFF YOURSELF. Set up a bottle of rubbing alcohol and Q-tips at your changing table. You will need to clean the stump at every diaper change. Dip one side of the Q-tip in the alcohol and first swab the top of the stump. The Q-tip will probably look dirty after the swab–this is okay–it means you are effectively cleaning! Dip the other side of the Q-tip in alcohol. Now you are going to swab the sides of the stump. GENTLY pull the skin down from the stump so you have access to the moist areas of the stump and can help dry them up. DO NOT FORCE
