If you notice any signs of infection or your baby seems to be in pain, call your pediatrician. Continuous bleeding or a sizable spot of blood at this very young age under a month is a concern and should get checked out. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations.
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Registry Builder New. Medically Reviewed by Lauren Crosby, M. The stump usually falls off in 1 or 2 weeks, but sometimes it takes longer.
Call your baby's doctor if you see any signs of an infection. These signs include:. Also call your baby's doctor if you notice any other problems with the umbilical cord area, such as:.
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Top of the page. Topic Overview After the umbilical cord is cut at birth, a stump of tissue remains attached to your baby's belly button navel. Cleaning Keeping the area clean and dry You can help your baby's umbilical cord stump fall off and heal faster by keeping it dry.
After birth, the umbilical cord is no longer needed — so it's clamped and snipped. This leaves behind a short stump. Your baby's umbilical cord stump dries out and eventually falls off — usually within one to three weeks after birth. In the meantime, treat the area gently:. During the healing process, it's normal to see a little blood near the stump. Much like a scab, the cord stump might bleed a little when it falls off.
However, contact your baby's doctor if the umbilical area oozes pus, the surrounding skin becomes red and swollen, or the area develops a pink moist bump. These could be signs of an umbilical cord infection. Prompt treatment is needed to stop the infection from spreading. Also, talk to your baby's doctor if the stump still hasn't separated after three weeks. This might be a sign of an underlying problem, such an infection or immune system disorder.
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