Be careful if the baby's umbilical cord is wet and has a bad smell

This article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Vu Quoc Anh - Pediatrician - Pediatrics - Neonatology Department - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.

The navel is the most susceptible to infection in a newborn baby because there is a cut in the umbilical cord after birth, which is considered an open wound on the baby's body. If the umbilical cord cutting tool and daily dressing change are not thoroughly disinfected, the umbilicus will face a very high risk of infection. On the other hand, abnormalities in the umbilical cord of the newborn will be a warning sign of a dangerous disease.

Most babies will shed their umbilical cord within up to the first 2 weeks after birth, with the exception of some special cases such as babies with umbilical ganglia or slow-drying umbilical blood vessels. So for some 10 days old but not yet shed the umbilical cord, parents should not be too worried. However, parents need to clean and care for the baby's umbilical cord daily carefully to monitor and detect abnormalities, if any.
Usually before shedding, the baby's umbilical cord foot may ooze a little wet fluid, it may be a little brown due to a little blood clot in the umbilical cord section, but absolutely no green or yellow pus should appear. There should be no stench and around the umbilical cord foot should not be red and swollen, the baby should not have a fever, and the feeding and sleeping activities should be normal. The mother needs to open the navel, not bandage the umbilical cord. Clean the navel daily, pay attention to clean the navel area and dry and open it.

If the umbilical cord of the newborn has an unusual odor, parents need to take the baby to a pediatrician immediately. In the case of a baby with umbilical cord bud (granuloma), the baby's umbilical cord is usually slow to fall off and has a discharge. When the baby's navel is wet due to abnormal discharge from the umbilicus and it is slow to fall off compared to other babies, parents should take the baby to a pediatrician to determine if the baby has umbilical cord buds or is still alive. in the umbilical cord? From there, the doctor will have an appropriate treatment and treatment direction.

Localized umbilical cord infection If there is a loss of the normal boundary between the skin and the umbilical cord, the umbilical cord is inflamed, red, pus-filled, sometimes bleeding, it is likely that the baby has an umbilical infection that needs to be treated with antibiotics. born immediately.
Home care is very essential, mothers need to take care of washing the umbilicus 1-2 times a day with 0.9% physiological saline and bring the baby to a doctor for re-examination if the umbilicus still has pus or fluid after 2 days or when more severe infections.
Prevention of local umbilical infection by aseptic before and after birth. Cut and tie the umbilical cord with sterile tools, relatives should wash their hands before taking care of the baby. Leaving the navel open and dry, avoiding applying chemicals or foreign objects to the navel, and not wearing a bandage is a way to make the navel dry and fall off quickly.
Diffuse umbilical cord infection This is a severe infection of the umbilicus that has spread to the surrounding connective tissue, causing hard red inflammation around the navel, creating an umbilical halo with a diameter of more than 2cm. Children with signs of systemic infection (high fever, lethargy, refusal to breastfeed).
Umbilical tetanus Clostridium tetani bacteria enter the baby's body through the cut in the umbilical cord. After tetanus bacteria enter the body, children usually do not immediately give rise to obvious symptoms during the incubation period (about 7 days).
In the period of full development, the child has a fever of 38 - 39 degrees Celsius, sometimes up to 40-41 degrees Celsius, crying, giving up sucking, the hard jaw becomes more and more obvious, gradually convulsions and spasms appear, the baby's face He was wrinkled, mouth puckered, foaming at the mouth, hands clenched. If the convulsion is continuous, it will be accompanied by pauses in breathing, making the child pale, cold hands and feet, many life-threatening situations.
Need to detect umbilical cord tetanus early when the baby has just started to wean, let the baby lie quietly, avoid all external stimuli, avoid many examinations, put the child in an incubator or warm bed, avoid noise and light and active treatment.
Single umbilical artery disease Normally in the umbilical cord connecting mother and fetus consists of 3 blood vessels: 2 arteries and 1 vein. The most common abnormality in the umbilical cord is 1 umbilical artery, accounting for 0.08 - 1.9%.
Umbilical granulomatosis Umbilical granulomatosis is a condition in which delayed epidermalization after umbilical cord shedding causes overgrowth of granulomatous tissue. Usually, umbilical granulomas often occur in babies who have delayed umbilical cord shedding, often more than 6-8 days after birth because they facilitate granuloma growth.
Existence of the umbilical cord Normally, the urachal tube connecting the urogenital sinus and the umbilicus will be closed and fibrosis into the umbilical-bladder ligament during the fetal period. The existence of a urinary umbilical canal is the existence of a tube connecting the umbilicus to the bladder, allowing urine to back up from the bladder into the umbilicus, urine pouring out of the umbilical cord causes the umbilical cord to leak continuously, causing the umbilical cord to be damaged. wet, sometimes children even get UTIs. This pathology requires surgical release of the urinary umbilical canal.
Umbilical hernia Within 5-7 days after birth, the umbilical cord gradually atrophies and falls off to form the baby's navel, the hole will close by itself as the baby grows up. An umbilical hernia occurs when the abdominal muscles fail to close the navel. There is a raised round mass right at the navel, which can be seen and felt when gently pressing on the baby's navel area. This mass may enlarge when the baby cries, coughs, stretches, or when the child sits up, or shrinks and disappears when the baby relaxes. Umbilical hernias are usually painless and rarely cause complications, and usually resolve on their own by 1 year of age.

In addition to taking care of the baby's umbilical cord condition, at the age of 0-1 months, the mother should take care of the baby carefully because the baby is susceptible to many diseases due to the immature immune system. This is also the golden period to carry out tests and screenings to detect dangerous diseases. To protect the baby's health, right after birth, parents need to:
Echocardiography after birth early, detect congenital heart even if there are no heart abnormalities during pregnancy. Performing postpartum screening helps to detect dangerous diseases such as congenital hypothyroidism, G6PD enzyme deficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, congenital hearing loss. Vinmec is currently one of the few hospitals that perform echocardiography for newborn babies, has a team of doctors specializing in echocardiography and treating cardiovascular diseases in children, helping to detect congenital heart diseases accurately. , timely intervention treatment. In addition, Vinmec provides a full range of postpartum screening services such as: Heel blood collection, Venous blood test to detect early, accurately 3 dangerous diseases in newborns only when the baby is 3-7 years old. day old. When detecting any health problems of the baby, the team of doctors at Vinmec will advise on the treatment direction with a full range of specialized specialties, helping the baby get the best treatment.
Master. Dr. Vu Quoc Anh has nearly 10 years of experience as a resident doctor and treating doctor at Hue Central Hospital and Danang Children's Hospital. Currently, he is a Pediatrician - Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.