New research has revealed a whole load of weird and wonderful things that parents do with their newborn babies' umbilical cords.
Believe it or not, some mums & dads fill the wound with honey or salt and rub earth on the cord whereas others use more traditional though outdated methods like putting a penny on the cord or cleaning it with surgical spirit, talcum powder or pure alcohol.
Some of the 1,000 parents questioned in the survey by Huggies® , have turned their baby's umbilical cord into cufflinks, some have put it in a frame and others have planted it alongside a tree to mark the baby's birth. And of course we have all heard about the parents who have turned the cord and placenta into paté and ate it after the birth. Each to his own!
72% of mums said they were not shown how best to care for their baby's cord before the birth and were confused about how they should look after it. Some parents reported that they cleaned the cord wound regularly, some cleaned it only at bath time and some didn't clean it at all. Nearly 70% of the parents surveyed said they felt really ervous when touching or cleaning the cord wound.
Midwife Nikki Khan said: 'It's very interesting that so many parents are obviously confused about how to care for their baby's cord in those very early days. The advice has changed over the years and many mums will hear various different bits of advice from friends and family, so it's no wonder that parents are unsure. Midwives advise parents to avoid routine cleaning of the cord and allow the wound to heal and dry naturally, with as little interference as possible. Cleaning should only really be done if the wound becomes contaminated, and just cool boiled water and cotton balls are advisable to use on this delicate area."
It was interesting to see that the majority of mums use the 'roll down' method with nappies, so that the cord doesn't get irritated.
GP Dr Rob Hicks said: 'With new parents spending less time in hospital, and so having less opportunity to learn about the best way to care for their baby's cord, it's easy to be caught off guard. Although generally speaking cord care is straightforward, there are times when the area can become infected. Nappies with a cut-out area and the advice given on cordcare.co.uk should make it easier for parents to spot when problems may be arising.'
September 2011
The research was commissioned by Huggies® who have recently introduced the Umbilical Cord Cut Out newborn size one nappy, designed to avoid interference with babies' belly buttons as they heal. For further information on cord care go to www.cordcare.co.uk. | 
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