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Our pediatrician said that some doctors say to leave the umbilical cord stump alone but he likes to suggest using a cotton swab with alcohol to wipe the perimeter.

I am fine with just leaving it be so long as it stays clean and dry. Do you think he suggested that solely for cleanliness or does the drying effect of alcohol help it move along to fall off? What did you do for your newborn?

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4 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

You're essentially asking for medical advice online. Use common sense and be critical of what you read.
Always follow your pediatrician's advice rather than what you read online. If you feel you're not confident with his advice, ask another pediatrician.

Having said that, here's what we were told (in 2009):

The stump will dry out and fall off within a few days. Keep it clean (using water and if necessary cotton swabs), and keep it dry (using cosmetic pads to gently wipe the surrounding area, then put baby powder on the stump. No oils or alcohols are needed (but you might have received different advice!).

You're probably right that alcohol dries it faster, but I don't see a reason for doing that. Let nature do it's thing; it's not dangerous and the child has no nerves there so it can't hurt him in any way.

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2  
We were repeatedly advised against using baby powder on our child, and not just for the stump. Baby powder, which contains talc, is both a carcinogen and an inhalation risk. It is also worth mentioning that if the stump is not kept dry, it can become infected, so saying it can't hurt him in any way is not strictly true (our son's stump did, in fact, become infected, despite our efforts to keep it dry without the use of alcohol). – Beofett♦ Apr 25 '11 at 0:54
Good points to consider. I wasn't aware that talc is a carcinogen. – Torben Gundtofte-Bruun♦ Apr 25 '11 at 12:11
A lot of what is sold as baby powder these days is not talc but is instead corn starch. At times it looked like you would have to go out of your way to find talc baby powder. – Barry Apr 26 '11 at 17:55
up vote 3 down vote

In March of this year when our little girl was born we've been told to clean gently with 70% alcohol, which we did (a few times a week, not everyday). It took 2 weeks to fall. Doctors advise 70% alcohol because this is still a bleeding open wound and it should be cleaned appropriately.

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up vote 1 down vote

We were told to just use soap and water when giving the baby a bath. The stump shouldn't bleed and it falls off really soon.

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up vote 0 down vote

I used what was advised by the pediatrician: Chlorophyllin and Viridis nitentis (both as alcoholic solutions).

The stump fell off in 15 days.

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