Caring for the umbilical cord
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| Caring for the umbilical cord |
The umbilical cord
The umbilical cord
is the channel that connects the fetus to the placenta inside the uterus. Its
function is to provide the fetus with food and transfer its waste, such as
carbon dioxide, to the mother’s blood circulation. Its length is about 50 cm,
and its diameter is about 2 cm. The amount of blood reaching the fetus through
the umbilical cord depends on its weight, the greater the weight of the fetus,
the greater the amount of blood flowing to it through the umbilical cord. The
umbilical cord is cut immediately after birth, after which most of the fetus’s
organs begin to function, such as the liver, lung, and kidneys.
Umbilical cord installation
The
umbilical cord consists of two arteries and one vein. The two arteries carry
the blood carrying waste products and the products of metabolism from the fetus
to the placenta, and the vein carries blood loaded with nutrients and oxygen
from the mother’s blood to the fetus.
Care of the umbilical cord position after childbirth:
- Ensure that the wound is clean and dry, and use the antiseptic prescribed by the doctor to avoid the emission of unpleasant odors and the occurrence of infections.
- Monitor the wound permanently, until it dries up and heals, and avoid pulling the remaining stump of the umbilical cord, and leaving it to fall off on its own.
- Be sure to consult a doctor if there is continuous bleeding, or secretion of a yellow liquid, accompanied by the emission of a foul odor for more than a week from the time of the fall of the umbilical cord remains, or the presence of redness or swelling around the umbilical cord.
- Refer to the doctor immediately if the stump does not fall after four weeks of birth, for early detection of any diseases, or a disorder in the immune system of the fetus.