Circumcision and Umbilical Cord Care

Circumcision Care

Circumcision is the is the surgical removal of the skin covering the tip of the penis, the removal of the foreskin to expose the tip of the penis.  circumcision is important to your baby as researches confirmed that it reduce the risk of  foreskin infections, urinary tract infections, penile cancer, STDs, and phimosis; a condition in uncircumcised  male that makes foreskin retraction impossible thus let not the fear o f pain, surgical risk or claimed penile damage prevent you from circumcising your new one .

 Circumcision is common to newborn male babies, as new mother of a male infant you have to know how to take care of your new baby’s wound.

 After the circumcision the tip of the penis is immediately covered with gauze coated with cream or petroleum jelly to keep the wound from drying and sticking to cloth or diaper. As the child nanny you should gently wipe the tip where the wound is, clean with water and apply the petroleum jelly to prevent the tip of the baby’s penis from sticking to the diaper every time you change the diaper. The wound should always be ‘’wet’’ and not dried as this could cause pain and injury to the baby. Therefore the petroleum jelly should be applied from time to time. The redness of the wound would only take not more than a few days or weeks to heel but if blisters occur and swelling increase   infections may be present and therefore you should consult your doctor’s attention.

Umbilical cord care

 Umbilical cord is the part of the placenta that connects the baby and its mother in the womb, it is the part for the nourishment of the baby in the womb, and it is usually painlessly cut-off after child birth leaving an umbilical stump.

 It is also important to take care of the umbilical cord in babies,  most doctors support swabbing the whole area with some alcohol  until the cord  get dried and fall off, it can take about three weeks or a month though it may vary while other doctors  prefer leaving it to heel on its own. Consult your doctor to know which one he prefers.   Sponge bath your infant until the umbilical cord falls off and the navel area heels before submerging your baby’s navel area in water. The umbilical cord must remain clean and dry, the diaper should be fold away from it  so that it is exposed to air and will not  get contact with urine. When the cord falls and the navel area heels it will change from red to black or brown.

When the redness persist or when odour or discharge occur get the attention of your child doctor.

Signs to know when there is an infection in the umbilical cord:

Infections are not common but consult your doctor when you notice the following signs:

·         The skin around the base of the code is red

·         When your baby cries when you touch it

·         The stump smell foul or yellowish discharges occur.