The minute after your little one is born, you fall in love with it. But there’s something strange around its little belly. On the tummy, you can see the rest of the umbilical cord that has discoloration and looks very bad. In this case, it’s normal to wonder why a baby’s belly button looks bruised.
There are many reasons why the navel has changed color, but let’s first see what the umbilical cord is. While the baby is still in the mother’s womb, in the developmental stage, the umbilical cord carries nutrients and everything that is important for your baby.
The umbilical vein and the artery also pass through the umbilical cord giving the baby air – oxygen, which is necessary for the baby. A simple umbilical cord is a bond between mother and baby by which the mother gives the baby everything she or he needs for growth, progress, and health. At the same time, the baby rejects everything she or he doesn’t need.
After birth, the midwife cuts the umbilical cord and thus breaks the physical contact between the mother and the baby. Just cutting does not hurt the baby because there are no nerve endings in the umbilical cord.
Small stumps from the rest of the cord remain on the baby’s navel. All this related to its belly button requires intense care and attention. That umbilical stump looks a bit bruised and should fall off in two to three weeks, depending on the care the baby receives and the baby itself.
With time, the belly button dries changes color, bruises, and becomes scabies. If properly treated medically it can be done without any problems.
The umbilical stump is tied to a navel the size of 2-3 centimeters, about 1 inch, but you must be aware that things can be serious and cause a big problem if you do not treat and bandage the wound on the baby’s stomach carefully.
Unless you take precautions, contamination of the wound can occur, which means that bacteria can enter the baby’s bloodstream and endanger the life of your newborn.
How do you heal a newborn’s belly button?
The three most important things are: keeping the stump dry, avoiding too much water but rather go with sponge baths, and letting the stump naturally fall off.
The navel has to be dry, clean, and often wrapped in hygienic gauze so that it does not come into contact with wet diapers that contain impurities, bacteria, and urine. Infections thrive in wet environments, so it is important to change the diaper frequently and to keep the baby’s navel dry and clean.
The baby needs to be bathed very carefully with a little water and protection on the navel so that the water does not come into contact with the wound.
The gauze should be changed twice a day, and the wound should be treated with iodine. The iodine should be allowed to dry for a few minutes and the wound should be covered with sterile gauze. If you have been treating the wound with cotton wool or ear sticks, fine fibers may remain on the wound.
Treat the wound with clean hands and with gentle and smooth movements, always use hygienic gauze. Ensure your hands are always clean and when you are dealing with wounds make sure you do it with gentle and smooth movements.
Also, you can seek instructions from the health visitor who will supervise your newborn when the baby’s belly button looks bruised. Be sure to call your pediatrician if you notice anything strange on the navel, such as redness of the skin, pus, signs of infection, swelling, or even bleeding.
The bruised belly button does not mean that something bad is happening to your baby’s navel, it can be a completely normal process when the rest of the umbilical cord does not have the same skin color as your baby, it becomes blue, bruised, and looks kind of ugly.
This is normal and means it will fall off because it has dried out. After the rest of the umbilical cord falls off, the navel should be medically treated for a few more days until the small wound on the navel closes itself.
What does it mean when your belly button turns purple?
This usually gives the parents a clue that the Cullen sign is present. It is represented as bruises and swelling around the navel along with noticeable discoloration.
Colors can be different and they vary in accordance with the condition. If the case is moderate the color will be green or yellow, but in the severe ones, when the baby’s belly button looks bruised, it’s purple.
When should I be concerned about my baby’s belly button?
The baby’s belly button is a very sensitive place so you should take extra care. If you follow the instructions your doctor or midwife gave you, there’s actually no need for worry.
However, sometimes infection can happen. At this point, you should take your baby to the doctor, so he or she can do the examination when the baby’s belly button looks bruised.
You should take this step if you notice that the baby’s navel has a bad smell, is pus or cloudy, has redness, is warmer than usual in the area of the umbilical cord, or even has a fever over 100.4°F.
Summary
Taking care of a baby is not an easy job. Parents are scared most of the time, but thanks to blogs, and of course the expert opinion of a physician, there’s almost no need for worrying.
If your baby’s belly button looks bruised, take care of the navel and its area. You should avoid bathing your baby too much, especially avoid soaking the belly area.
When you bandage the wound using sterile gauze instead of cotton wool or ear sticks, because fine fibers may remain on the wound. Be gentle and make sure your hands are always clean when this process comes along.
In the cases when you see bigger changes such as redness, temperature, pus, swelling, and fever, this could mean that the wound is infected. At this point, you should take your newborn to visit a doctor and receive the needed care.
