Umbilical Cord ? (Okay to get wet?)

finger_lakes09

So yesterday I saw a post where someone said they were told its okay to get the umbilical cord wet during bathing.

I've always heard not to bathe the baby until the stump falls off (Just bathe with a damp wash cloth).

So, what is the truth? Is it okay to get the Umbilical Cord wet?

saturdaynightdoubletree

I'd check with your pedi...

ours told us to keep the cord as dry as possible until it falls off on it's own. No water, no alcohol, no powder... just let it do it's thing. Until then, a sponge bath is good enough.

danssugahbugah

With DS we couldn't soak him until the stump fell off.  We were told to try not to get it wet, and to keep it dry. 

Our pedi said not to treat with rubbing alcohol, others say to Q-tip rubbing alcohol on it whenever you change a diaper.  So treatment of the stump may vary but I haven't heard of being able to get it wet at all.

OctoberBabyH

We were told to keep it as dry as possible. If it gets wet during the "sponge bath" phase (before the cord stump falls off on its own) simply dry it off with a clean, dry washcloth and clean it with alcohol.

scoutkate

We were told not to get it wet, but to clean it with alcohol. 

bumpuser260585

We took a baby care course at our hospital and was told that it was okay if the stump got wet, but we should still only sponge bathe the baby.  The RN just said not to submerge him in water because it isn't good for the umbilical cord or baby's skin in general since it could cause him to have dry skin.  She just told us that you don't have to be as careful as people were back in the day with keeping the cord dry.

kg_08

When we were about to leave the hospital, I was told that we could give her a full bath if we wanted to. According to my doctors, keeping it dry is old school and it really makes no difference. We also cleaned with alchohol 2X a day and we were told that's to help it dry out, and also to keep it from stinking.

GenRN45

it'll start to smell really funky if you get it wet, like soaking it.

Sponge baths only until the stump comes off.