New parents often worry about how to care for the umbilical cord stump on their newborn baby. It can be a little disturbing to see the clip on the umbilical cord stump, but don’t worry it doesn’t hurt your baby and when you understand what the umbilical cord has done to feed your baby, you just need to understand that you just need to keep it clean and dry to ensure if detaches itself cleanly and safely in its own time, which can be up to 15 days after birth.
Midwife Suzanne Barber explains how you can best care for your baby’s umbilical cord stump.
What does the umbilical cord do?
The umbilical cord connects a baby in the womb to its mother. It runs from an opening in your baby’s stomach to the placenta in the womb. The umbilical cord carries oxygen and nutrients from the placenta into your baby’s bloodstream. The umbilical cord is made up of:- one vein that carries blood rich in oxygen and nutrients from you to your baby
- two arteries that return deoxygenated blood and waste products, such as carbon dioxide, from your baby back to the placenta
What happens after the baby is born?
Soon after the birth, the midwife will:- clamp the umbilical cord about 3-4cm (1½-2 inches) from your baby’s belly button with a plastic clip
- place another clamp at the other end of the cord, near the placenta