How to properly handle the navel of a newborn

After the difficult process of childbirth, mother faces many questions, especially if the baby is the first. Measured pregnant weekdays turn into a marathon of feeding, changing diapers and swimming. Caring for a child, especially in the early days of his life, is the basis of his future health and immunity. One of the main questions for the care of a newborn is the way to handle his navel. The umbilical cord, which bound the baby and mother, was the main source of nutrition, oxygen, vitamins. After birth, the umbilical cord is cut, but until the open wound heals, this part of the body remains potentially dangerous. The fact is that an open, unhealed navel is a gate for infection and germs. Therefore, you need to watch the navel very carefully.

How to process the navel

In the maternity hospital after birth, the cut umbilical cord is fixed with a special clip.After a few days, it disappears. Usually this time coincides with the moment when a young mother leaves home with the baby. Often, this criterion allows the baby and young mother to go home. However, the navel falls off in all different ways, so some women have to wait until the navel falls off, a week, and even more.

After separation of the dried part of the umbilical cord, an open umbilical wound remains in the marked place. In principle, it can heal on its own, in some countries there is no concept in medicine at all - to process the navel. However, we still try to protect your baby from possible infection and inflammation. Therefore, we will tell in detail about how, what, when and how much to process the navel.

1. To begin with, how often to do the processing procedure. It is necessary to process the navel twice a day, not more often. Frequent disturbance of the damaged area does not allow it to heal. Your task is to keep your beloved navel dry and clean. Evening treatment is better after taking a bath.
2. Before you treat your baby's navel, do not forget about the purity of your own hands - wash them with anti-bacterial soap.
3. The first thing we need is hydrogen peroxide and a pipette. Carefully drop a few drops of the drug into the baby's navel. The navel will start to foam - this is absolutely normal. After that, wait a few minutes for dried crusts of blood and epithelium to soften. Carefully clean the navel of the newborn from unnecessary clots, using a cotton swab to clean the ears. If your baby's navel is in the folds, climbing deeply is strictly contraindicated. Treat only the upper part of the wound, do not try to crawl under the skin. This slows down the healing process of the wound.
4. After the navel is cleared of everything unnecessary, it is necessary to treat it with an antiseptic composition. Previously, this was done with green stuff. However, today it is not necessary to do this. The fact is that green paint creates on the skin a thin film that prevents the passage of air. In addition, the intense color of green leaves does not allow to see the possible redness or swelling of the skin. Therefore, modern pediatricians recommend to abandon this kind of treatment.
5. Instead of green stuff, baby skin can be treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.Alcohol is not recommended to use - it strongly dries the skin and delivers very painful sensations. Dissolve the potassium permanganate in water so that it turns pinkish. Strain the composition through several layers of gauze to prevent the smallest crystals of potassium permanganate from getting on the skin. After that, moisten a cotton pad in solution and carefully treat the wound.
6. Instead of peroxide, you can also use Chlorophyllipt 1%. This is an excellent antiseptic drug that fights not only against simple pathogens, but also staphylococcus. It is often sold as a spray, which makes it easy to use.
7. Close the navel after treatment is not worth it - no patches and bandages. To heal the wound - it needs access to fresh air. After treatment, allow the baby to lie naked for some time, you can use these moments for strokes and light massage of the child. It is not only pleasant, but also very useful.
8. A few words need to say about the diapers. There are special diapers for sale that leave access to the navel open. If you have not found such diapers, simply fold the upper part of the diaper so that the navel remains open, in no case cover the wound with an air-tight material.Clothes should also be only cotton so that the wound is ventilated and the skin breathes.

These simple rules will help to carry out the procedure of navel processing quickly and fearlessly.

How many navel heals

Usually the umbilical cord falls off 3-5 days after birth. Then, for a few more weeks, the wound heals, just like normal skin damage. At first, the navel may bleed - this is absolutely normal, you should not be afraid of it. Usually, by the first month of the baby’s life, the navel completely heals and there is no trace of the wound.

However, there are signs, noticing which, you should immediately see a doctor. First, if the navel gets wet and bleeds for more than three weeks. If there is redness in the area of ​​the navel, swelling, if the baby cries and is naughty when touched, if purulent discharges appear, immediately go to the pediatrician.

Is it possible to swim until the navel is healed

This question worries many young parents. Is it possible to swim while the child has an open wound on the child’s stomach? How to organize the first bath so that the baby is comfortable?

It is possible to bathe a child with an unhealed navel, but this should not be done before the clothespin with the navel falls off. Our mothers and grandmothers added potassium permanganate to water to disinfect it.It is not recommended to do this, because potassium permanganate dries the skin. If you do decide to add potassium permanganate, make a very weak solution - the water should be slightly pink. And do not forget to strain the solution through gauze to prevent the ingress of microparticles of the substance.

To protect the umbilical wound from infection in it, you need to use only boiled water for swimming. Water temperature should be comfortable. You can check this by dropping your elbow into the water. After bathing, treat the wound in the manner described above. And do not forget to give it enough to dry.

Why the navel does not heal

Sometimes parents are faced with such a problem that the navel does not heal for a long time. What could be the reason for this?

1. Hernia. This is the most common reason that baby's navels do not heal. If you notice that the baby's navel often bulges when crying, this is a reason to contact a pediatrician. The reason for the formation of an umbilical hernia can be heredity, imperfection of the muscles of the abdominal cavity, excessive load in the form of strong and prolonged crying and other factors.Hernia can pass without any treatment, and surgery may be necessary. However, the suspicion of umbilical hernia is a direct way to face-to-face consultation with a doctor.
2. The size of the navel. There are babies who have a physiologically large navel. There is nothing wrong with that, it just takes a little more time to heal.
3. Intensive care. Sometimes too careful handling of the navel is the cause of its bleeding. If the mother climbs into the navel, trying to clear the folds of the crusts, she does not allow the wound to heal. In addition, deep penetration into the navel can be a source of infection.
4. Prematurity Babies born prematurely have imperfect immunity; they will need more time to heal the navel.
5. Omphalit. It is an infectious disease of the navel and the skin around the navel. In this case, the baby's skin becomes red, inflamed, painful. There may be strange white discharge, pus, unpleasant odor. Fighting omphalitis at home is dangerous - only to the doctor.
6. Umbilical fistula. When the baby is in the womb, its navel is connected to the intestines - so it feeds. After birth, connective tissue builds up in the bile duct to close the distal section.If this does not happen, a liquid can be released from the navel, because it is directly connected to the intestine. Fistula is a fairly common disease and, if properly treated, completely disappears.

If the child’s wound does not heal for more than two weeks, if something bothers you, you shouldn’t let everything take its course. It is better to make sure that the doctor is okay than to treat the effects of a neglected disease.

Treatment of the wound of a newborn is not difficult, but a very important process. It is in your power to accelerate the healing of the precious navel to protect the child's body from microbes and bacteria. Competent care - the basis of the health of your baby!

Video: how to care for the navel of a newborn