The wound on the navel of the newborn does not heal. Umbilical wound and its treatment in a newborn

During pregnancy, the baby is in the womb and is connected to the mother by the umbilical cord.

Through it, the child receives the substances necessary for his growth and development.

The umbilical cord combines three blood vessels: a vein through which blood flows, enriched with oxygen and nutrients, and two arteries - through them blood returns from the fetus back to the mother.

cutting the umbilical cord

When a baby is born into the world, the direct connection with the mother's body is interrupted. The newborn can now independently eat, breathe, remove processed products from the body. Now he is growing, changing and developing as an independent and unique personality.

The cut section of the umbilical cord in a child is tied up or clamped with a special plastic clip. After that, the doctor treats the navel with disinfectants, and in the future, this procedure is already done independently by the mother of the baby.

Approximately 5–15 days after birth, the remnant of the umbilical cord of the newborn, together with the clamp, turns into inanimate dry tissue and disappears, and an umbilical wound forms in this place. Previously, mothers were discharged from maternity hospital only after that, but according to the new WHO recommendations, babies are now sent home with the umbilical cord stump still intact.

Caring for the navel of a baby with a stump that has not fallen off

Immediately after discharge from the hospital, young parents have many questions: how to care for the umbilical wound, what needs to be done to heal it, and what cannot be done.

Try to get air into your baby's tummy - this will best remedy to dry the umbilical cord. Very useful will be daily 5-6-minute air baths. In no case should the diaper come into contact with the umbilical cord area - you can hold the diaper below the navel, bend the edge of the diaper or use special disposable diapers with a slot.

The stump should fall off naturally You don't need to help her with this. Formerly pediatricians advised to treat the navel with liquids containing alcohol, or green paint. But the last medical research in this area have shown that there is no need for such procedures. The drying process can be accelerated only by increasing the duration of direct exposure to air on the wound.

Caring for the navel after falling off the stump

After falling away umbilical cord the umbilical wound must be dried immediately. Leave the baby for a few minutes with an open tummy, as you are already accustomed to doing.

If the navel is clean and dry, then no special processing after that is not required. Avoid getting feces or urine on the umbilical cord, be sure to rinse with clean running water and wipe dry soft towel. The umbilical wound should always be clean and dry.

When is special care needed?

There are cases when transparent bloody or yellowish color crusts. In this case, your doctor may recommend that you carefully remove them from the wound so that they do not create favorable environment for the reproduction of microbes.

You can do this with hydrogen peroxide. Take a little liquid in a pipette and drop it on the formed crusts, and then blot with a piece of cotton wool or gauze. You can repeat the procedure several times until the crusts are easily separated and the wound is completely cleared.

With a gentle movement, using a cotton swab and hydrogen peroxide, remove them and treat the navel with green. Re-treatment with greenery, most likely, you will not need.

To bathe or not to bathe the baby?

Experts are of the opinion that as long as the remnants of the umbilical cord still remain in the newborn, it is better not to bathe him in a baby bath, since immersion in water will slow down the drying process of the umbilical cord.

During this period, it is quite possible to limit yourself to washing the arms, legs, chest and other individual parts of the baby's body with water or wiping them with a damp soft sponge. Go to full-fledged "water procedures" only after the final healing of the umbilical wound.

Causes of bleeding from the umbilical wound

There are individual cases when the umbilical cord does not heal and bleeds. There may be several reasons for this:

• You could accidentally hit her with a diaper or diaper;
• This could happen if the baby cried for a long time and strained his tummy;
• If the umbilical cord is too thick, it will heal more slowly and bleed intermittently;
• The cause of umbilical bleeding may be too early laying out the baby on the tummy;
• If you treat the umbilical wound incorrectly and injure it.

What to do if the navel bleeds?

The first ambulance in this case will be the already familiar procedure for treating you with hydrogen peroxide, and then with green paint.

But there are points that you should definitely alert:

• If the wound does not stop bleeding within 5-7 minutes after treatment;
• If this does not happen to the baby for the first time;
• If you notice purulent discharge with or without an unpleasant odor;
• If there is swelling or redness around the umbilical wound;
• If the navel does not heal for a very long time (more than 1 month);
• If during the crying of the child the swelling protrudes and becomes larger;
• If around the umbilical region there is an increase in the body temperature of the baby;
• If it comes from the navel bad smell or he continues to get wet for 2-3 weeks.

In all these cases, you will need a mandatory consultation with a specialist - a pediatrician.

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The umbilical wound remains in all newborns after they are born. This is the place where the mother's placenta connected with the bloodstream of the child to be born. Immediately after removing the baby from the womb, the umbilical cord is blocked with a special clip and cut. The flow of blood through (one vein and two arteries) stops. As a result, a small section of the umbilical cord of about 2 cm remains, which is regularly treated in the maternity hospital with antiseptic solutions (hydrogen peroxide and "potassium permanganate").

Every day the rest becomes drier, mummified. But it happens that the navel of a newborn does not heal for too long, which worries parents. How long should it heal, what reasons delay its drying and how to avoid this unpleasant phenomenon?

In order to identify the problem and not worry for no reason, it is useful for parents to know how much the navel heals in a newborn, according to the norm. The terms may differ from the usual indicators by 1-3 days, according to the individual characteristics of a small organism, but no more. The healing of the umbilical wound in babies occurs in stages.

1. From the moment of birth and for the next 3-5 days, the umbilical cord in a newborn is a nodule.
2. From 3 to 5 days after birth, the umbilical cord finally dries up, falling off on its own.
3. In 1-3 weeks of life, the baby's navel will heal like a normal, albeit rather deep, wound. It may even bleed slightly at first, which is very frightening for new parents. If the bleeding is small, do not panic.
4. At 3-4 weeks of a baby's life, the umbilical wound heals completely.

Usually in the maternity hospital, a young mother is warned when the navel in newborns heals: this happens by the end of the first month of the baby's life. If given term dragged on, it is imperative to call a doctor who will help find out the causes of this phenomenon and eliminate them, and then prescribe treatment.

Causes

There may be several reasons why the navel in a newborn does not heal for a long time. Some of them are easily corrected by the care and efforts of the parents themselves, but some can only be eliminated with the help of a doctor.

• big navel

Each child, depending on individual characteristics the body and the condition of the placenta (if it was thick), the size of the navel may differ. If he's enough large diameter, it will heal longer than the rest of the children. If this is the true reason that the navel does not heal well, there is nothing to worry about. It will definitely dry out, but it will happen more slowly, because the wound itself is large.

• Umbilical hernia

If the baby's navel not only does not heal, but also protrudes, this is danger sign umbilical hernia. In this case, the child should be shown to the doctor as soon as possible.

• Poor wound care

All parents are different: someone zealously blows off a speck of dust from a newborn, someone does not really care about hygiene. Both options are equally bad. In the first case, the mother cleans the wound too thoroughly, thereby damaging the thin skin again and again. In the second case, dirt or some kind of foreign body. In any case, the wound can bleed, and there can be no talk of healing. You should definitely consult a doctor for advice. He may have to remove a foreign body from the umbilical wound of a newborn, since such manipulations are strictly prohibited at home.

• Weakened immunity

Babies can be born too weak when weak immunity is susceptible to various infections and microbes. It is very difficult for such an organism to independently cope with the healing of such a serious wound as the umbilical one. If the reason that the child's navel does not heal for too long (in this case, it may bleed), is a weak immune system, without medical intervention and medications is indispensable here.

• Suppuration

If an infection has entered the wound after contamination, severe suppuration may begin in it, which is usually accompanied by a bad smell and incomprehensible secretions. At the same time, drying slows down, the navel remains wet for a long time. In this case, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

There can be many reasons for this phenomenon. By the end of the first month of a baby's life, parents begin to worry about what to do if the navel does not heal in a newborn, how they can help their baby. If the healing of the wound is delayed for more than a month, you must go to the hospital and do not take any independent action. This can harm the health of the baby and aggravate his condition. Only a doctor can determine the true cause of this unpleasant and painful phenomenon and prescribe the appropriate treatment. It must be remembered that it is much easier to prevent a disease than to treat it. This also applies to the healing of the umbilical wound in newborns.

Prevention

In order for the navel of the baby to heal as quickly as possible, parents must initially ensure proper care behind the wound. This will make life easier for the baby and will not allow a long and painful healing of the navel.

1. The first 7–10 days, the umbilical wound must be treated with “greenery” (it is preferable to potassium permanganate). It is recommended to do this once a day after bathing before going to bed.
2. When a crust forms on the umbilical wound, it is better not to remove it: the risk of damage to the skin is very high. Let it fall off on its own.
3. During the healing period of the navel, it is better for babies to bathe in a separate, baby bath. Water for these procedures is recommended to boil and then cool to 36-37°C. It is good to add a solution of "potassium permanganate" to the bath so that the water turns into a slightly pink hue.

If the umbilical wound does not heal in a newborn for a very long time (more than a month after his birth), this is a signal that something has gone wrong, and it is necessary to seek help from a doctor as soon as possible. Any independent actions can only worsen the condition of the child in general and the wounds in particular.

Caring for the umbilical wound of a newborn is often associated with doubts and fears in young mothers. The fact is that in the first days of life, this place on the body is very prone to inflammation and injury. If you do not treat the wound in a timely manner and do not follow the process of its healing, there is a chance that you will eventually encounter serious infections. Therefore, you need to know how and how many times a week to carry out the processing procedure.

When the baby's umbilical cord falls off, a small wound forms in its place, usually healing within a few weeks. Processing will help speed up the process and prevent bacteria from entering the body. umbilical wound and further monitoring of its condition.

• The wound toilet requires only hydrogen peroxide and any disinfectant solution - potassium permanganate, brilliant green. You will also need cotton wool (it is more convenient to use cosmetic sticks).
• Before the procedure, be sure to wash your hands well with soap and water, so as not to bring the infection to the baby.
• Slightly stretch the baby's navel with your fingers and drop peroxide there with a pipette. It will soften the crust on the surface and the wound will be easy to clean. The trace from the umbilical residue usually has a yellow or bloody tint.
• Start to clean up everything accumulated in the navel with a cotton swab when the peroxide finishes bubbling. The fewer bubbles formed, the better the wound healed.
• Lubricate the wound with a disinfectant. Do not be afraid to harm the newborn, because similar procedure safe.

Additional measures

• Usually, the treatment is carried out after the daily bathing of the baby. Use boiled water with a weak solution of potassium permanganate in the bathroom.
• Make sure that the diaper does not block access to air at the healing site. Today it is not difficult to purchase even special models with a cutout, and from regular diaper just fold over the edges.
• Change diapers on time. From the ingress of moisture, the crust gets wet, slowing down the healing process. In this situation, the navel should be cared for by wiping with an alcoholized cotton swab.
• Isolation of a clear liquid from the navel (ichorus) - normal phenomenon in newborns. The wound, which began to bleed soon after the separation of the umbilical residue, is also not worth worrying, such bleeding ends quickly.

Causes of problems

The most common concern of mom: what to do if the place in the navel of the baby is bleeding? First of all, it is worth determining what caused the process in the body of a newborn:

• injury. In the process of swaddling the baby, changing diapers and clothes, you could touch the crust, and it came off, because this place bleeds. Similar situation does not pose a danger and does not last very long;
• scream and cry. In a sobbing baby, the crust is also able to come off by itself. AT this case there is also no reason to worry once again, there is no harm to the body;
• wide wound. From a very thick umbilical cord, the trace remains large. Such a navel will heal much longer, so bleeding occurs more often. Make the toilet longer and more thorough, and then it will heal faster;
• infection. Inflammatory process starts at the navel different reasons, for example, due to the foreign object. The baby's body weak immunity is not always able to cope with the problem that has arisen. In this case, it is necessary to show the child to the doctor;
• granuloma of the umbilicus. Vessels and tissues often grow too fast, and capillaries often become tangled. Then the navel bleeds even from the most minor injury. The disease can be eliminated by cauterizing the navel with a special pencil with a silver rod.

Noticing that the wound does not just bleed, but exudes an unpleasant odor and after some time forms pus, then an appeal to a specialist is required immediately. Sometimes mothers notice how the navel is constantly getting wet. In such a case, it is possible that water after bathing remains in the baby's navel. Sometimes the selected disinfectant composition is simply not suitable for a newborn. Then it’s worth changing the green and potassium permanganate to alcohol tincture calendula, xeroform.

Treatment

• The best way to avoid problems is to handle it properly. Movements should be soft and careful and form a single algorithm.
• In case of poor healing, try changing the navel treatment, for example, to chlorophyllipt. But the solution should be replaced only after consulting with a specialist.
• Pay due attention to the bathing procedure, then inspect and process the navel. Water should be boiled, preferably with a low concentration of potassium permanganate. Monitor the temperature of the liquid and the level of humidity in the room, especially with a poorly healing and weeping navel.
• Make sure that the navel does not sweat, and the clothes do not rub.

Summing up

• The algorithm for treating an umbilical wound is extremely simple, but in case of doubt, it is better to consult a doctor or nurse for advice.
• Caring for the navel is allowed using different means, but only with the permission of a specialist.
• It is worth wiping the navel with peroxide after bathing, while the skin is dry and clean.
• With a bleeding or weeping navel, try to reconsider the swaddling procedure, change the healing solutions. Be sure to pay attention to other symptoms of deterioration in the child's condition.
• How long does the navel heal in a baby? Everyone is different. The wound usually completely heals in a newborn in 2 to 4 weeks.
• In case of constant bleeding, pus, an unpleasant smell from the navel, be sure to call an ambulance.

• An umbilical wound needs air. No need to stick a plaster on it, cover it with thick clothes, a diaper. In the case of sufficient oxygen supply to the tissues, the wound does not get wet, does not bleed and heals quickly.
• It is not recommended to treat the skin around the navel with green paint. The drug stains the skin and makes it difficult to diagnose redness and inflammation.
• Toilet wounds do not spend more than two times a day. Otherwise, the place simply will not have time to heal.
• Give your child air baths. Fresh air accelerates wound healing.
• It is better not to put the baby on the tummy until the navel has healed. The wound in a newborn is at first prone to injury, and diaper rash occurs on the skin around.
• Watch how long the wound heals. If the umbilical cord fell off more than a month ago, and inflammation has formed around the skin, the temperature has risen and the baby is nervous for a long time, tell the doctor as soon as possible.

This procedure is faced by all, without exception, young mothers. And although the pediatricians in the maternity hospital seem to have explained everything in detail, but ...
Your baby has been born. Family life was filled with new experiences. But for new parents, caring for a baby is not an easy task. So many questions appear literally from the first day!

When does the umbilical cord fall off?

After the birth of the baby, the umbilical cord is cut, leaving a small part - the umbilical cord residue (about 1.5 cm). Nowadays, in most large maternity hospitals, the umbilical cord is cut off surgically on the 2nd day of the baby's life. In other maternity hospitals, the umbilical cord residue is not removed, it falls off on its own, usually on the 3rd-5th day of life. After the cord residue falls off or is surgically removed, a wound surface is formed - an umbilical wound that requires careful care. umbilical wound can become an "entrance gate" for infection.

First aid kit for a newborn

You must have:

• sterile cotton swabs;
• 1% alcohol solution of brilliant green (brilliant green);
• gauze wipes (sterile);
• 3% hydrogen peroxide solution.

  How to treat the navel of a newborn

  Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before handling the wound.
  Processing umbilical wound spend 1-2 times a day, before morning feeding and after evening bathing of the baby.
  Step by step:

  • blot the baby's skin after bathing;
  • stretch the edges of the umbilical wound well with the index and thumb of the left hand;
  • moisten a sterile cotton swab in a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and lubricate the center and edges of the umbilical wound (direction of movement from the center to the periphery);
  • at the same time, if there is a fresh or dried discharge from the wound, carefully remove it first with a cotton swab dipped in a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution;
  • dry cotton swab or dry the wound with a cotton swab;
  • treat the umbilical wound with brilliant green with another cotton swab in the direction from the center to the outer edges of the umbilical wound;
  • apply a sterile drape to the treated umbilical wound to limit skin contact.

    Try to swaddle the baby so that the vest is adjacent to the wound (the vest must be ironed after washing), and already on top of the diaper.

    Until the wound has healed, is it possible to bathe the baby?

    Yes, but only in boiled water with the addition of a solution of potassium permanganate. You can not directly add potassium permanganate crystals to the bath. They do not always dissolve in water and, once on children's skin, can cause a burn. Therefore, a ready-made solution must be added to the water. It can be prepared in advance, the solution should be dark in color, and should be stored in the refrigerator in glass jar by closing the lid. It is necessary to add potassium permanganate to the bath immediately before the procedure. The water is light pink. And when everything heals, you can bathe the baby in water without potassium permanganate.

    How long does the navel heal in a newborn?

    • 10-14 days after birth, the umbilical wound is normal - dry and clean. There should be no discharge from the wound, discoloration of the skin around the navel. If changes persist, be sure to consult a doctor.
    • On the 1st-2nd day after discharge from the maternity hospital, a doctor and a nurse from the children's clinic will come to you. The nurse will visit the child daily until healing umbilical wound.