The long-awaited extract from the hospital, flowers and gifts ... Perhaps, having brought the crumbs home and unfolding a beautiful envelope and diaper, you will see him naked for the first time. In many maternity hospitals, children are now brought only for feeding at strictly set hours. Be prepared for the fact that you can see diaper rash, redness of the skin, an unhealed umbilical wound. And if the first two problems occur in about 30% of babies, then the latter worries 90% of young parents. In our article, we will talk about how to process the navel of a newborn and how to do it correctly.
Cutting off the umbilical cord, through which the baby for 9 months received all the necessary nutrients for life, should occur only after the cessation of blood pulsation in it (shortly after the birth of the baby). If the manipulation was carried out correctly, the remainder of the umbilical cord dries quickly and disappears - a maximum of 10 days. After this period, the crumb should remain neat navel.
Why the question arises of how to process the navel of a newborn? The thing is that after bandaging the umbilical cord in most cases, a surgical staple is applied, which disappears along with its remainder. After this, the so-called umbilical wound arises - it requires special attention of parents and medical workers, because cutting the umbilical cord is, in fact, a small operation.
Caring for a wound is quite simple, and below you will find some tips on how to handle a newborn's navel. How to do this so as not to harm the baby?
1. Accelerate the process of natural drying of the wound - leave the baby without clothes during the day, arrange him with air baths.
2. If the wound does not heal well, use special diapers with a slot in the navel, clothes should also not put pressure on this place.
3. Do not tear off the rest of the umbilical cord yourself, wait until it happens naturally.
4. After the remainder of the umbilical cord falls off, remove bloody or yellowish crusts from the wound. How to handle the navel of a newborn in this case? The best remedy is hydrogen peroxide. Draw a few drops into a pipette and drip into the wound, then gently pat the navel with a cotton swab or disc, removing the soaked crusts. After the wound, you can grease with green. How much to handle the navel of a newborn? Depending on the condition of the umbilical wound, perform this manipulation up to two times a day.
5. Do not affect the shape of the navel by sealing it with a band-aid. This is not only useless, but can also harm the delicate skin of the baby.
6. There is no unequivocal opinion of experts on whether it is possible to bathe a child with an unheated belly button. If necessary, use boiled water.
How many days to process the navel of a newborn? Before the wound is completely healed, this usually takes 1-2 weeks. During this period, it is necessary to carefully monitor its condition. Contact your pediatrician if you notice the following symptoms:
- discharge from the navel after the remainder of the umbilical cord;
swelling, bloating, or redness around the navel;
- pus or unpleasant odor in the wound area;
- bleeding from the navel, which does not stop even hydrogen peroxide;
- protrusion in the form of a circle or oval - umbilical hernia is possible .