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Friday, 25 July 2003 |
Your baby will have a stump of the umbilical cord still attatched to his umbilicous, you will need to ensure that this is taken care of until it falls off.
You will need to make sure it is always clean and dry until it falls off naturaly (this will be within the first two weeks of baby's life)
The cord is best exposed to the air elements by folding down your baby's nappy at the waistband, doing this can help prevent infection to the umbilical area.
Should the cord look inflammed, very red, sticky and weepy, please inform your midwife.
The cord should be cleaned daily using cotton wool dipped in cooled down sterile water (you can get sterilised water from your kettle) DO NOT USE BOILING WATER - LET IT COOL FIRST
The cord will drop off within the first two weeks - NEVER ATTEMPT TO PULL THE CORD OFF.
Again use this as a guideline only - your midwife should go through cord care with you and this is one of the things she will be checking on when you first go home with your baby, if you are in any doubt whatsoever with the cord care seek advice from your midwife or from your GP.
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