Umbilical cord stump separation

Umbilical cord stump separation

After the birth of a baby, once the umbilical cord is cut, a small piece of cord remains. We call this an umbilical cord stump.

This left over tissue which contains a vein that took blood to the baby in the womb, and two arteries that brought waste products back to the placenta, begins to shrivel and die as its no longer needed.

This is because there are two ducts in the heart that were once needed in the womb to distribute oxygenated blood around the body via the umbilical cord. These ducts close as soon as the baby starts breathing, and are able to oxygenate themselves via the lungs.

Over several days the cord stump will turn darker and become stiff, eventually falling off as it dies. During this process, there may be a bit of a smell, it may look sticky, crusty, yellow and may even bleed a little bit as it begins the separate or immediately after.

Friction from clothing and nappies may result in some crusted blood appearing.

There no need to put anything on the cord stump or developing belly button (umbilicus), before or after it falls off. Just keep the area as clean and dry as possible. Wiping around the area with cotton wool and warm water once a day will do.

Rarely, an infection can occur. If there is excess bleeding that's doesn't stop, an angry looking red patch around the umbilicus, pus oozing from the area or fever, get the baby examined by a doctor or midwife. The umbilical stump typically falls off anywhere between 5-16 days but most are gone by 10 days of age.

Permission from parent to share image. This umbilicus is healing normally.