Your baby’s umbilical cord clamp will be removed before coming home or you will be told when to have it removed. You should clean your baby’s cord several times a day with rubbing alcohol. It may be easy to remember to clean the cord when you change diapers. Alcohol helps to dry the cord while preventing infections. Your baby may be startled by the cold alcohol, but it does not sting or burn. Never try to warm alcohol.

To clean the cord, saturate a cotton ball or swab with rubbing alcohol. Gently apply it to the base of the cord, swabbing around it several times. Gently move the cord to one side as you clean to get down to the base. You may want to use a cotton-tipped applicator for this step. Fold the front of the diaper down to keep the diaper off the cord and to allow drying of the cord. The cord will usually fall off by itself within two to three weeks. After the cord falls off, continue cleaning the area for a few more days. There may be a slight yellow discharge, but this is usually normal.

Call your pediatrician if there is persistent bleeding (more than one or two drops from the cord) or if you see redness of the skin around the cord and extending to the baby’s abdomen, or if there is an unusually strong or foul odor.