After the baby is born, new parents have many questions. Their number increases significantly if the family has a first child. Mom worries about how many days she will be discharged from the hospital and how to take care of the baby. Immediately after the birth of the crumbs, the young mother should ensure proper care for the baby's navel, on which the clothespin is placed. A woman should know how to properly process, what tools are needed to perform manipulations. In addition, mom should understand the purpose of the clothespin on the navel of the baby, and also know when and how to remove it.
What is the umbilical cord?
The umbilical cord, or umbilical cord, is a special organ that connects the embryo to the placenta. In other words, the umbilical cord provides the connection of the unborn child with the mother. The formation of this organ begins already in the second week of the intrauterine development of the baby. The main function of the umbilical cord is to supply the fetus with all the necessary nutrients and divert metabolic products.
Immediately after the birth of the baby, the umbilical cord is clamped on both sides with special clamps, and then cut.
Clothes pin purpose
Why do we need a clothespin on the navel of a newborn? What is its purpose? Immediately after birth, the umbilical cord loses its original function. That is why in the first minutes of the baby's life, her doctors cut her off. It is very important to ensure proper care for the umbilical cord to avoid infection. That is why they leave about two centimeters of the umbilical cord and pinch it with a clothespin.
What is necessary for processing a navel of a newborn with a clothespin
After the birth of the baby, parents have a huge responsibility. To process the navel of a newborn with a clothespin, each new mother must have a first-aid kit. Processing requires standard tools. What should be included in a home medicine cabinet? The list of necessary medicines includes:
- 3% hydrogen peroxide solution;
- sterile cotton buds directly for treating the umbilical wound;
- 5% solution of potassium permanganate, i.e. potassium permanganate;
- solution of brilliant green;
- pipette.
It is very important that all the tools that will be used in the process of caring for the baby are sterile. Potassium permanganate is best purchased in pharmacies in the form of a ready-made solution, since self-production may violate the percentage of substances and, as a result, get a burn of the skin of the baby.
How often do you need to process your belly button?
Many mothers are worried not only about how to process the baby's navel, but also with what regularity. Experts recommend treating the wound twice a day: in the morning after the baby is awakened and before bedtime.
The processing of the navel with potassium permanganate must be carried out after carrying out water procedures. These manipulations must be carried out until the umbilical wound is completely healed. It is worth noting that in each child this process proceeds differently. However, in most babies, the clothespin falls off 3-4 days after birth, and the navel heals after 2-3 weeks.
Instructions for processing a newborn's navel with a clothespin
It is necessary to carry out the treatment of the umbilical wound in a newborn baby, strictly following certain rules. This will not harm the skin of a small child and speed up the healing process.
First, drop 1-2 drops of a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution onto the navel area. After that, the substance should hiss a little. This occurs when the solution interacts with the baby's blood particles. Mommies need to understand that the crumbs at this moment are not hurt, and he practically does not feel discomfort. You need to remove the clothespin and treat the skin under it. It is necessary to ensure that each site is processed without exception. After this, you need to process the clothespin itself, clean it of particles of skin and other foreign elements that can cause infection.
Then the clothespin must be wiped with a cotton sterile cotton pad and treated with a solution of 70% alcohol. The last manipulation will provide an additional barrier to protect the infection from penetrating the baby's umbilical wound that has not yet healed.
Then it is necessary to dry the blotting area with a gauze ball. It must be borne in mind that the ball should be just gauze, and not cotton.
After this, the umbilical wound must be cleaned of existing crusts with hygienic cotton buds. This manipulation must be carried out as carefully as possible, without rushing. This stage of processing is very important, because under the crusts, the discharge can accumulate, the development of infectious processes can occur. The occurrence of an infection is signaled by redness and swelling in the umbilical wound of the baby. If the crust cannot be removed the first time, moisten a cotton swab in a small amount of liquid paraffin, and then reprocess the navel.
After removing all the crusts in the area of the umbilical wound of the baby, you need to moisten a clean cotton swab in a solution of brilliant green and treat this area on the baby's body. Before putting on a diaper or sliders, you need to allow the wound to dry. Experts strongly recommend that during the healing period, when there is a clothespin on the navel, give preference to diapers with a navel recess. Since the contact of panties or other types of them with an unhealed wound can bring crumb discomfort.
Useful tips for young mothers
Young mothers need to consider some recommendations when caring for a newborn baby.
- Do not treat the umbilical wound of the baby too often. It is necessary to develop a kind of schedule and try not to retreat from it.
- Doctors strongly recommend reducing the baby’s time in the disposable diaper at least during the healing period of the umbilicus in order to prevent urine from entering the wound.
- It is necessary to carry out the treatment very carefully and carefully so as not to harm the delicate skin of the newborn baby.
- Do not use too much green and potassium permanganate during the manipulation process. In addition, these substances must be applied to the pre-dried area.
- It is highly recommended not to use cotton swabs or discs to care for the umbilical ring. Since small particles of this instrumentation can get into the umbilical wound and cause various infections.
Subject to these recommendations, the process of caring for the baby will not scare, but bring only pleasure.
What to do when the clothespin is dropped?
The processing of the navel without a clothespin does not have significant differences from the wound care process with a clip. Children's doctors - pediatricians - argue that you need to treat the umbilical wound until the hydrogen peroxide solution "hisses" in contact with the skin of the baby.
How long does the navel in a newborn heal?
Many new mothers are interested in how long the umbilical wound heals in a newborn baby. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the organism of the crumbs, recently born. In some babies, the navel heals very quickly, during the first 14 days of life, in others this process can take three or more weeks. If the navel does not heal for a long time, you should immediately consult a doctor for qualified assistance from a pediatrician.
If the navel bleeds
Very often, during the healing period of the umbilical wound, women notice bleeding in the area of the treated surface. This phenomenon may be caused by a foreign body entering the navel. Only a surgeon can remove it without harm to the health of the crumbs. Prior to visiting a specialist, it is necessary to continue processing the umbilical wound with a solution of brilliant green or potassium permanganate according to all the rules.
Prolonged hemorrhage in the umbilical region, as a rule, is observed in babies with greatly weakened immunity and poor blood coagulation.
What symptoms should alert?
Often, the healing of the umbilical wound can be delayed, and the baby may experience unpleasant symptoms. If at least one of them is found, it is necessary to immediately contact a specialist for qualified assistance.
- A wet navel for a long time should alert parents and cause them to go to the clinic. The doctor will prescribe the necessary treatment, which is most often based on the use of special ointments for the treatment of umbilical wounds.
- Suppuration in the umbilical zone is quite easy to detect by the peculiar yellow-green discharge with a specific smell. To combat this problem, the doctor usually prescribes an antiseptic.
- Inflammation of the navel and umbilical cavity can signal the presence of a disease such as omphalitis. This is a fairly serious disease that can lead to peritonitis of the abdominal cavity with infection of the baby's blood. Inflammation, redness, and swelling in the umbilical ring may indicate the presence of the disease. To treat omphalitis, the doctor prescribes a course of antibiotics.
- With a problematic healing of the umbilical wound in the baby, granulations can occur, which are a pink ball on the leg inside the baby's navel. With this phenomenon, the tangle of capillaries grows quite rapidly and the abdomen rapidly blushes. To get rid of the pathological condition, the doctor prescribes regular treatments of the navel with hydrogen peroxide and a solution of potassium permanganate or brilliant green to dry the wound.
- Very often, at times of crying, the baby’s navels significantly increase to the size of a walnut. This increase is very noticeable with the vertical position of the baby's body. This can signal the presence of a hernia in the baby, which passes by itself or is removed surgically when the child reaches the age of three. Wearing a special bandage, frequent laying out of the baby on the tummy, as well as massage and special gymnastics will help get rid of the unpleasant phenomenon.
Parents need to devote a lot of time to the state of the umbilical wound of the baby in order to avoid the occurrence of further health problems in the baby.
Conclusion
The birth of a child is a very crucial moment for every person. Young parents have a lot of questions. How many days are they discharged from the hospital? What is needed to care for a newborn baby? What should include a first-aid kit and a list of necessary medicines.
Immediately after the birth of a small child, the umbilical cord is cut, and a small residue of this organ, which during the pregnancy bound the organisms of the mother and child, is pinched with a clothespin. That is why many newly minted parents are worried about how to process the navel of a newborn with a clothespin. No less important is information on what to do after its removal. Inexperienced parents, in whose family the first child was born, have especially many questions. Navel healing is a very important process, since the baby’s body can be infected through the channel through which the bloodstream of the baby with the placenta is communicated. As a rule, the processing of the navel of a newborn with a clothespin is carried out in the walls of the hospital, since by the time of discharge it disappears.
It is imperative to contact specialists in a medical institution if the umbilical wound does not heal within the first month of the baby's life. This may indicate the presence of some infections and diseases. The puffiness and the appearance of redness in the same area should also be alert. You need to follow the recommendations of the doctor, and not the advice of young mothers from the forums.