How to care for your baby’s umbilical cord

cant feel anything when theyre getting stitches.
Delayed cord clamping
Delayed cord clamping is when the umbilical cord isnt cut right after birth. In general early clamping is cutting the cord within 60 seconds of birth. However the World Health Organization recommends delaying clamping the cord after the first minute and up to five minutes after birth.
Its one last push to give your baby all the rest of the blood flowing in the cord Dr. Garcia said.
It can especially help babies who are more likely to have low iron and it can even benefit babies for a full six months after birth.
Umbilical cord care
When does the umbilical cord fall off?
It should take no more than three weeks to fall off. Usually the umbilical cord stump falls off on about day 10 of your babys life Dr. Garcia said.
If your babys stump hasnt fallen off in one month call your doctor about your babys umbilical cord.
Cleaning your babys umbilical cord
When you think about cleaning your newborns belly button you dont need to worry too much. Thats because its not necessary to give your baby a bath while they have the umbilical cord stump.
Babies dont need as many baths as we think they do. They dont do much in the first few weeks of life that make them dirty Dr. Garcia said.
Usually babies get their first bath at the hospital and its not you as the parents that need to do it so theres already less to worry about.
Dr. Garcia recommends two things Keep the stump dry and dont touch it.
Do a sponge bath and keep the stump dry. So when you do give your baby a sponge bath dont wash the stump.
Doctors used to recommend cleaning the stump with alcohol but thats not recommended anymore. That only kills the bacteria that is needed