Important Tips About Bathing a Newborn With Umbilical Cord

Bathing a newborn baby is a special moment for both parents and child. It’s also an important part of keeping your baby clean and healthy.
Here are some tips on how to bathe your newborn safely and effectively.

Vernix Newborn, What Is It?

The vernix caseosa, a natural barrier, is present on full-term newborns' skin, which has a pH close to normal. The vernix caseosa emerges on the skin surface of full-term babies as a chalky-white cheesyfi coating made up of shed epithelial cells, sebum, and lanugohairs.
It is absent in post-term neonates, whose skin is drier, and it may not have fully developed in a pre-term infant, depending on gestational age. The vernix begins to form about week 28 and peaks between weeks 33 and 37.

Temperature regulation,hydration, protection, and wound healing are all helped by the vernix caseosa, which should be left alone to resolve naturally.

Fine desquamation of the skin begins approximately 2 days of life. Desquamation may not appear in preterm newborns until 2–3 weeks after birth, whereas post term newborns may be delivered with dry, peeling skin.
The acid content of the stratum corneum rises over weeks to months, eventually transforming into the acid mantle.
The acid mantle's acidic pH creates a normal permeability barrier, which improves stratumcorneum cohesiveness and integrity. When cleansing babies, it's important to avoif over-drying the skin.
Skin care should not affect the acid mantle as the infant grows older and the acid mantle develops.
Stability of the neonate's vital signs is a factor to consider when giving the newborn his or her first bath. If bathing is done too quickly, it might cause hypothermia, higher oxygen needs, and breathing difficulties.

The umbilical cord is clamped at birth, leaving an umbilical tissue stump. It passes through necrosis and detaches from the body over a period of weeks (up to 8).
In most cases, the procedure takes about two weeks. The infant is at danger of local secondary infections when the umbilical cord stump goes through this process. This risk can be reduced by keeping the umbilical stump dry.

Measure temperature, oxygen status, respiration rate, and heart rate before the first bath following birth, and make sure these indicators are constant for 2–4 hours.

Every 2–3 days, give the neonates a bath.
Allow the vernix caseosa to resolve naturally rather than scrubbing it away.
Sponge bathe the umbilical cord till it falls off spontaneously.
Immersion bathing is less detrimental to babies' temperature stability.
Use infant washes that have a neutral pH and are fragrance- and dye-free.
In cases where procedures aren't up to par, a one-time cleansing with chlorhexidine wipes is recommended.
For dry skin, apply emollients (fragrance-free) every 6–12 hours as needed.

Use chlorhexidine to disinfect the area. Then, to avoid local necrosis and absorption, wash off any surplus soap.
Consider buying chlorhexidine in powder form, which dries faster.umbilical cord healing process
Avoid hexachlorophene or isopropyl alcohol.
To keep the stump dry, fold the diaper away from it.