Cord Blood Stem Cells Information

My babies umbilical cord is not healed yet.?

My baby is 2 wks and 3 days old and his umbilical cord has to fallen off yet. Today when i lifted it up to clean it i noticed blood on the q-tip. It is dried up and looks like it is trying to come off, my doctor told me to clean it every other time that i change him, do i need to clean it every time instead? and is my babies umbilical cord infected or is it just trying to come off and that is why it is bleeding?

Public Comments

1. Thats normal. . it was the same way with my son! Looked almost scary at times and I was way over worried. It will come off adventually. In the mean time, keep up with what your doing.
2. It can take up to a month thats normal...... you can clean it every time if you want that ok. Congrats
3. Please do not clean it with alcohol. My doctor told me alot of people do that and he told me not to do that and said the main thing was not to get it wet. I would call another doctor about the bleeding. I'm sure it's normal but just to be safe.Have fun with your little blessing!
4. you need to use a suitable medicated powder to dry it out which will help it fall off and keep it clean.besides the risk of infection cosmetically the better it heals the better your babies belly button wil look. congratulatons! x
5. It's good to keep the babies umbilical area cleaned but if you keep it "to clean" by applying alcohol or neosporin to it at every cleaning the area won't be able to dry up so that the cord can fall off. It might get a smell to eat but that is part of the umbilical cord basically just rotting off.
6. It can take up to a month. My daughter's took almost a month to fall off, and her's looked the same as you are describing. The Dr always said it was fine.
7. You aren't supposed to clean it at all. There is no benefit to apply alcohol or other cleansers and they delay the cord falling off. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&uid=9836156&cmd=showdetailview&indexed=google Cord separation time was statistically significantly different (alcohol group, 9.8 days; natural drying group, 8.16 days; t = 8.9, p = < .001). Mothers described similar comfort with cord care and relief with cord separation. Costs of alcohol drying while in the hospital were greater than those of natural drying. CONCLUSIONS: (a) Evidence does not support continued use of alcohol for newborn cord care; (b) health care providers should explain the normal process of cord separation, including appearance and possible odor; and (c) health care providers should continue to develop evidence to support or eliminate historic practices.
8. I had the same anxieties as you with my little guy. I think he was around 3 weeks or so before it actually fell off because first it kind of lifted half way off and stayed like that for a little while before it completely detached. I forget who said this to me but I found it rather amusing; they said, "I don't think I can recall anyone starting Kindergarten with their umbilical cord still attached so just be patient!" As far as infection goes, look at the skin surrounding the stump: is it red or swollen? If not, chances are it's fine. The only thing I put on my son's (at the advice of the Health Unit nurse) was hydrogen peroxide a couple of times a day.
9. Once you’re home with the baby, little is required to care for the stump. Depending on the type of initial treatment the baby’s cord received, you may need to wipe the stump and the surrounding skin area with rubbing alcohol 2-3 times a day until the stump falls off. While wiping, you may notice a little bit of yellowish ooze or even a drop of blood. This is normal and is not a cause for concern. Keeping the area dry is important. This is why you are not supposed to bathe the baby until later. Another way to help with cord care is to keep the diaper rolled out and down (so the inside of the diaper is showing), which allows the stump to be exposed to the air keeping it dry. Furthermore, the rolled diaper will not trap the stump inside the diaper. If you roll the diaper in and down, it will place the plastic outer side of the diaper against the stomach, making it uncomfortable for the baby. Within the first 2 weeks, the cord usually falls off. When this happens, you may notice a small, pinkish area in the bottom of the belly button, which does not look like the rest of the skin. This is expected, and normal skin will grow over it. Once this happens, it is safe to give your baby a bath.
10. my bubs took about 4 weeks to come off, part of it did after 2 wks, i just used metho, dont rub it on just dab it on lightly. it will come right.