The umbilical cord remnant usually falls off within a few weeks. You should work to keep the area clean by swabbing the remnant each time you change your baby’s diaper with a alcohol soaked cotton-tipped swab. Detachment can take a couple of weeks and you should continue the swabbing for another week after detachment. You may notice that after detachment there is a little oozing or bleeding at the site. That is normal. You should call our office if you notice redness of the skin around the cord or a strong odor or pus-like discharge from the cord itself. As far as bathing is concerned, you should sponge bathe your baby until the cord falls off. After that it is appropriate to use an infant tub.
