Umbilical Cord Stump/Navel Treatment???

[Mawood]

Hi-
I am still going down my list of preparation and would be interested in tips about dealing with the umbilical cord stump. We are planning on a "natural birth" with doula in a hospital setting, trying to sign out as early as possible but we don't have a postpartum doula and will be on our own at home.

I heard of a powder for the navel that is called Golden Seal? Anyone knows more about that? How did you treat baby's navel and how long does it usually take to fall off? In Germany you wait with a bath until it fell off but you also have a midwife doing home visits (after every hospital birth!) and help you check on it.

I am planning on ordering oral vitamin k today and was wondering if there is some treatment I can order for the navel as well or if it is better left alone???

Thanks for all your good advice. It has been so helpful for me to post in this forum!!!

[Comtessa]

Leave it alone! That's the advice I got from everyone - this was one of those rare moments when hospital staff, home birth midwife, pediatrician, and mother-in-law were all in agreement. They all said the same thing: keep it clean and dry, and it will fall off in a week or so.

Goldenseal is just the powdered form of the herb (Gelbwurzel in German). Some folks use it on the stump because the herb has natural healing properties. But it's a bit messy and can stain clothes, etc., and doesn't really help the cord stump fall off any faster. My vote is to just let it be. If the stump area gets infected, it's pretty easy to tell... and the hospital staff will tell you what to watch for.

One word of warning, too: I have heard of people treating the umbilical cord with dried green clay, but anytime you put dirt (even nice good-for-your-skin "clean" dirt like green clay) on a wound, there's a small risk of tetanus. Not worth the risk!

[broodymama]

I just left it alone with all my kids, didn't put anything on it. I'll do the same with this babe.

[freistms]

Don't let the nice people at the hospital put alcohol on it. It's the standard practice around here still, but alcohol actually kills normal flora and delays drying and falling off. I've also read that water (including baths) is fine, as long as the stump has not been treated with anything - though keeping it dry still seems to be the standard recommendation.

My midwife uses golden seal, but I think we will opt to decline, provided I can dig up the research I've used in the past to decline other treatments (i.e., alcohol in the hospital).

Mainstream medicine info: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/umbilical-cord/PR00046

Midwifery resources:

http://www.naturalchildbirth.org/nat.../newborn11.htm
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/cordcare.html#Baths

[snoopy5386]

I have heard both to leave it alone and do nothing and to clean it with alcohol. We did a mix of both, DD's stump never fell off and we had to have it removed with silver nitrate at the ped's office at 6 weeks old.

[jecombs]

We started out treating DD's with alcohol 2x a day, as recommended by most medical professionals. That quickly fell by the wayside, as I got increasingly sleep-deprived and forgetful. Her stump fell off in about a week.

Alternatly, I have a friend IRL, who is admittedly a bit obsessive and a nurse, who cleaned her DD's stump with alcohol after every diaper change. That stump hung around for a looooong time... I think she said it took a month to fall off. She now fully attributes that to her over-use of alcohol.

This time around I'm still debating about just leaving it alone and seeing what happens (no alcohol at all).

[Comtessa]

This 1998 study in The Journal of Obstetric, Gynecological and Neonatal Nursing concludes that "evidence does not support continued use of alcohol for newborn cord care." The study also found that use of alcohol significantly prolonged the process of the cord stump falling off.

[fruitfulmomma]

My midwife doesn't do anything to it but my birth kit comes with a little tub of goldenseal to put on it. I usually just sprinkle a tiny bit on if it is looking really goopy.

The hospital put iodine on dd1 and I don't know what they did with dd2 as she was taken to nicu at birth.

I am mostly of the opinion that leaving it alone is the best policy.