Does the baby need a waterproof belly button sticker when bathing?

When bathing a newborn, mothers are worried about the baby's belly button getting infected. Many new mothers like to put a belly button patch on their baby to prevent infection. In fact, experts tell us that it is not necessary to do this when bathing the baby. The remnants of the umbilical cord will fall off on their own within 1 to 7 days, and during this period it will be an open wound. Just keep it clean and dry at ordinary times.

Do I need a waterproof belly button sticker when bathing my baby?

Before the baby is born, the umbilical cord is the main connection between the fetus and the mother. It is an important channel for gas exchange, nutrient supply and excretion of metabolic products between the mother and the fetus. When the fetus is delivered, the umbilical cord has completed its mission and will fall off naturally.

Under normal circumstances, the umbilical cord stump will fall off on its own within 1 to 7 days, but it is possible to fall off within 1 to 2 weeks. During this period, the umbilical cord is an open wound. If it is not properly cared for, it is prone to infection, which may lead to diseases such as omphalitis, jaundice, and sepsis. Therefore, umbilical cord care for newborn babies is also very important.

Clinical guidelines for umbilical cord care

The natural drying method means that after the baby is born, the umbilical cord is cut strictly aseptically (in regular hospitals, the operations of clamping and cutting the umbilical cord require strict aseptic conditions). After 24 hours, the umbilical cord is not bandaged, and the umbilical cord stump is exposed to the air. No disinfectant is used, the umbilical cord is kept dry, and waits to fall off naturally. During this period, diapers need to be folded under the navel to ensure that the navel is exposed to the air.

Exposing the navel allows parents to observe the navel in a timely and direct manner

Once the navel is found to be contaminated, or there is a foreign object in the navel fossa, it can be dealt with in time, so under normal circumstances there is no need to use a navel sticker.

The benefit of keeping the navel dry is that it can promote the appearance of normal flora and white blood cell infiltration around the navel, thereby accelerating the healing of the umbilical cord and shortening the time it takes for the umbilical cord to fall off.

The reason for routinely disinfecting the baby's umbilical cord is that disinfectants such as alcohol may kill the normal flora that help the umbilical cord dry and fall off, reducing the infiltration of white blood cells, which will delay the shedding of the umbilical cord.

So don’t think that disinfection is more hygienic. Maybe the baby’s umbilical cord falls off late because he was disinfected when it didn’t need to be disinfected. Generally speaking, if the baby's umbilical cord has not fallen off 3 weeks after birth, consult a doctor to see if it needs treatment.

Waterproof stickers are not necessary.

As for whether to use it during bathing, according to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, before the umbilical cord stump falls off, only a sponge bath is needed for the baby. The navel does not need a sponge bath, just keep it dry and clean, so a waterproof sticker is unnecessary.

If you are worried about water getting on your baby's navel when bathing, you can use belly button stickers, waterproof stickers, etc. to protect the navel before bathing, and remove them after bathing. However, the umbilical cord sticker is sticky after all, and it is easy to hurt the baby when tearing it off. Use a sponge bath for bathing. Parents need to be more careful and don’t necessarily have to use belly button stickers.