Cord Blood Stem Cells Information

baby umbilical cord fell off and smells bad?

My 2 weeks old baby's umbilical cord just fell off. There still seems to be pinkish flesh within the middle of the bellybutton and there is a bad smell from the bellybutton. There seems to be no blood or pus coming out of the bellybutton and it is dry, Is this normal ?

Public Comments

1. Try cleaning it with rubbing alcohol. If after that it still smells bad, it could be infected, call your doctor and tell them.
2. My baby's cord did the exact same thing...it smelled like death. Once it fell off and finished healing it was fine...just keep cleaning it with peroxide and it should be fine
3. OMG I had this same problem and I freaked out and took my daughter to the emergency room. All because it smelled. I waited 2 hours in the waiting room, bawling my eyes out, scared to death that she had some kind of infection. Finally we got into the room to see the doctor. The doc looked at her, looked at the cord that had fallen off (yeah, like a freak, I took it with me) and said "Looks good! Keep it clean!" I don't know what was up with the smell, but I think from the sounds of it, it's totally normal and okay. No need to freak out and go to the emergency room. Unless you feel the need to, because rather be safe than sorry.
4. peroxide???? dont you mean alcohol?!?!?!
5. my baby had the exact same thing and there was a foul smell everytime I changed his nappy. A child health nurse said it was mildly infected (hence the smell) and to put betadine on it (like iodine) after every nappy change. It soon went away. In general, bad smells like that do signal an infection, which need to be treated. Infections in that area in a new born are VERY common and are very easy to clear.
6. just keep it clean, if any of these signals appear call the Dr - fever - red/ swollen around the bellybutton - the bad smell intensifies - Pus.
7. i took my son to the doctor about the same thing and he just said to keep it dry after a bath and it would clear up. it did in a few days and it was fine :)
8. yeah my sons stunk nasty too! clean it with rubbing alcohol, fold the diaper down, so it does not touch the diaper, also so it can dry out again, let it air dry for a little bit... good luck, and congrats about your new baby