Taking care of the stump

A baby's umbilical cord stump needs to dry up before it falls off. Most often, the stump falls off 1 to 3 weeks after birth. In the meantime, treat the area gently:

• Keep the stump dry. Expose the stump to air to help dry out the base. Keep the front of your baby's diaper folded down, so it doesn't cover the stump. Or cut off a small piece of the diaper with scissors and use tape to seal the edge. Half of the strip of tape goes on the inside of the diaper, and half sticks to the outside of the diaper.
• Don't swab the stump with rubbing alcohol. Do not use this on the stump unless your healthcare professional tells you to do so.
• Clean up any fluids around the stump. Clear or blood-tinged fluids may seep out around the umbilical cord stump. If you notice any, clean them off with a wet cotton swab. You may need to gently push down on the skin around the cord stump to reach all the fluids. You also might need to slightly bend the cord stump. Then, pat dry with a clean cloth. Expose the cord stump to air.
• Clean up any stool that gets on the cord. This can help prevent infections. Use a washcloth that has soap and water on it to clean the dirty part of the cord. Pat it dry with a clean cloth and keep the stump exposed to air.
• Stick with sponge baths. These might make it easier to keep the stump dry than a regular bath would. During a sponge bath, you wipe or dab areas that need to be cleaned. Use a warm, damp sponge or cloth. You can put a bit of bath wash on it if you want. Then, rinse the areas you cleaned with a wet sponge or cloth. Dry with a dry towel or washcloth. If you get the umbilical cord stump wet, that's okay. There's no harm in getting the stump wet.
• Let the stump fall off on its own. Do not pull off the stump yourself.