What should I do if my newborn has umbilical cord bleeding?

The navel of a baby is still very fragile soon after birth, so mothers should pay attention to take good care of it. So what is the cause of neonatal umbilical cord bleeding? What should we do if the umbilical cord of a newborn is bleeding? How to prevent neonatal umbilical cord bleeding? The following editor will introduce you in detail.

Causes of neonatal umbilical cord bleeding

If the bleeding of the newborn's umbilical cord is only a very small amount, mothers do not need to worry and do not need to take any measures for the time being. Just pay more attention to it. However, if the newborn's umbilical cord bleeds frequently, parents should pay attention. Umbilical bleeding refers to the situation that within 1 week to 1 month after the newborn's umbilical cord falls off, if the newborn coughs or cries hard, it will cause the intra-abdominal pressure to increase, and the remaining blood vessels in the umbilical cord will open slightly, resulting in a small amount of bleeding. The reason is that after the umbilical cord is cut, the blood vessels in the umbilical cord are only functionally closed, and anatomically they are still not closed, and they are still a potential channel. When the child's abdominal pressure increases, there will be a small amount of bleeding in the umbilical cord, which will appear as a little brown or bright red blood on the newborn's clothes.

What to do if the umbilical cord of a newborn is bleeding

First, use 75% alcohol to gently wipe off the blood on the navel, and then bandage it with sterilized gauze.

Never use unsterilized water or cloth to clean or fill the belly button to stop bleeding, so as to avoid umbilical infection.

The umbilical cord head can easily be rubbed by clothes and cause bleeding or redness and swelling. Be sure to wrap the baby's umbilical cord well and keep the area dry.

Do not get water into the baby's mouth when bathing. Use a sterile cotton swab dipped in medical alcohol to disinfect the baby after each bath. If necessary, take the child to the hospital for a doctor's examination.

When caring for your baby's umbilical cord, wash your hands, pinch the umbilical cord, lift it gently, and use a 75% disinfectant alcohol cotton swab to disinfect the base of the umbilical cord. Wipe off all secretions and blood. Do this 1 to 2 times a day to keep the base of the umbilical cord clean.

Diapers must be changed frequently to avoid urine and feces from contaminating the navel. If purulent secretions are found at the base of the navel and the navel is locally red, it means that omphalitis has occurred and you should go to the hospital for treatment.

How to prevent umbilical cord bleeding in newborns

Keep the baby's navel area dry. Especially when bathing the baby, try to avoid getting the umbilical cord stump wet. If it gets wet accidentally, wipe it clean with a clean cotton swab before taking care of the umbilical cord.

Avoid rubbing the umbilical cord stump. When choosing diapers or clothes for your baby, be careful to avoid rubbing the umbilical cord stump. The diapers or pants should not be right at the base of the umbilical cord, otherwise it is easy to rub against the base of the umbilical cord when the baby moves, causing skin breakage, redness, and even bleeding.

Do not apply lotion to the umbilical cord stump. Some parents think that applying lotion, cream, etc. to the baby's umbilical cord stump is a good way to take care of it. In fact, applying these things will make the umbilical cord difficult to dry and may even cause infection.