The umbilical cord transported nutrients from you to your baby throughout your pregnancy. Now your baby has a purplish-blue stump that is about a half inch to an inch long.
When your baby is born the umbilical cord is cut and there is a stump left. The stump should dry and fall off by the time your baby is 5 to 15 days old.
Keeping clean is more important than cleaining process. You can use just water and gauze only. However some hospitals are giving alcohol to do so. When using alcohol be careful that it will dry baby's skin.
Watch the umbilical cord stump for infection. This does not occur often. But if it does, the infection can spread quickly.
Signs of a local infection at the stump include:
Foul-smelling, yellow drainage from the stump
Redness, swelling, or tenderness of the skin around the stump
Also keep watching baby's fever. Higher fever means infections.
If your baby's stump has not fallen off in 4 weeks, call you baby's provider. There may be a problem with the baby's anatomy or immune system.