When the baby is born, the umbilical cord that has held him together with his mother is cut and provided everything he needed for his development during pregnancy. Two or three weeks after being cut, it is usually dry enough to peel off.
Sometimes it follows at fifteen days, although it can also take a month, but it is advisable that if after twenty days it has not fallen, the pediatrician will visit. In no way should it be stretched so that it finishes detaching itself, no matter how fine the thread is, as this could cause dangerous bleeding. Do not be scared if when it comes off naturally it bleeds a little, the bleeding will stop on its own immediately.
It is very important that, from birth until the navel is detached, maintain proper hygiene and without moisture in the area, preventing it from getting dirty with the feces and urine of the baby, always extreme belly button care. To do this, ensure that the diaper does not cover the navel area, and if necessary, fold the top edge of the diaper to avoid it. It is also convenient to cure it with alcohol of 70 degrees at least twice a day, being one of them after the bath. A correct application is, raising the appendix or stump, but without stretching, being able to cure the transition zone between alcohol and normal skin. You should not leave the protective gauze dipped in alcohol, as it could irritate you.
Some pediatricians recommend for the cure of the navel during the first days, that an antiseptic such as chlorhexidine be used after alcohol or as a substitute, but there are also others who prefer not to put anything. What they all agree on, is that you have to do without iodine products, since their absorption could influence thyroid function.
Mercromine is also not used, since its color makes it difficult to assess the state of the navel and, in addition, older people may suffer from contact dermatitis due to mercury allergy.
You may accidentally get dirty with your stool, then you should wash it thoroughly with soap and water and dry it very well afterwards to apply the alcohol or antiseptic recommended by the pediatrician. It is rare for the navel to be infected, but if this happens, it could expand rapidly in the newborn, so if pus, yellowish and foul-smelling secretions, redness or if you notice that the baby hurts when you touch him is detected, You have to take it quickly to the specialist.
Once the cord has fallen, there is still a risk of infection as long as the navel has not completely healed, so you should continue to take extreme care and care, until the gauze that covers it appears clean two or three days in a row. If your baby's navel is of the so-called “amniotic navels”, that is, it is sunk and the skin does not protrude, you should have more cure of it, because it is less ventilated and you will observe its state with more difficulty.
Once it has healed completely, you can already wash it quietly, separating its folds for maximum hygiene but always then drying it well.
