Babies Umbilical Cord - PHOTO IN COMMENTS

[BruceAndMarley]

Our DD is 8 days old, I think her cord is about to fall off over the next few days. Does this look normal? I have rang my health visitor who asked questions like does it smell, is she hot etc which is no to nothing questions . There’s no smell at all but I don’t like that the HV can’t see it, so I still feel on edge . Community MW is coming Saturday and HV is coming Tuesday but does this look normal to all you mums on here?

Thank you

It does look red on her actual tummy but that’s because we had the flash on and it was dark out still . It’s not hot etc

Can you send a photo to HV? I don't think Dts looked like that they were much drier.

Looks fine to me. There's a bit of pus, but that can be quite normal as it dries off. My kids had a combo of dropping off in 2 days and dropping in 10 days with a load of gunk.. If you are desperately worried get her seen, it's always hard to know what's normal. They're gross aren't they!

My DS' looked exactly like that and it was very stinky. Midwife said it was fine, it dropped off shortly after

I think it looks normal - they're grim arent they?!

@AriettyHomily I asked The team and they said there’s no way to send photos. It’s so awkward as a first time parent as you worry about everything anyway :(
@hedgehoggle
@Tootletum they’re so gross ! I’d never seen one before so it really freaked me out ! Deffo no smell or anything to do , no heat, she’s fine in herself feeding well etc so I’m just holding onto that !
@hedgehoggle thank You hopefully it falls off soon. Then do you just wash as normal ?

@Letsallscreamatthesistene so grim !!

My DD was a bit crusty like that too, the midwife has no concerns at day 9/10 re it when she came out. We just kept it clean around it.

Most GPs are receiving pics, can you call them and ask to send a pic for reassurance ?

You can clean gently around the base with cooled, boiled water to get rid of any gunk.

After its off you can start giving your daughter a bath if you want. Theres no pressure to do that either though.

Your baby is tiny so if you are concerned you should ring the doctors.

Normal! It will come off in next 24 hours I would say Wipe gently round it with some cooled boiled water with a teaspoon of salt dissolved in it.

Thank you so much, I’ll give her a little wipe down around the gunk . If it was infected she’d be showing signs wouldn’t she ? Like a temp etc ? I suffered all through pregnancy with extreme anxiety and OCD and thought it would go away when she was born- how wrong was i ?!

If it was infected it would stink!! DS had cord issues that meant his didn’t fall off properly and needed cauterising - it stank 🤮
It would also be really red around the area

Our DS stump was like that and it stunk like rotting flesh the day before it fell off.

I panicked. All fine though 😂

Looks like my DS's at that stage, I agree with PP that it's about to come off. When DS's came off there was a little bit of blood and gunk but the midwife said it was fine.

Sorry to hear you're feeling so anxious, I also felt quite anxious about things at the same stage so I'm sending hugs. If you don't feel better, please consider talking to your GP as there are services that can help you with post partum anxiety. I found them so helpful and non judgemental.

I suffered all through pregnancy with extreme anxiety and OCD and thought it would go away when she was born

Having anxiety in pregnancy can mean you are more likely to have anxiety postnatally as well. Please make sure your health visitor is aware so she can support you as needed. Did you get any support in pregnancy ie counselling or CBT?

Btw Cord looks normal to me, but you did the right thing ringing your HV. You could also ring your midwife too

@Changedmynamelots oh gosh I can imagine 🤢 I work at a hospital and can picture it smelling like rotting flesh that I’ve dealt with before but hers doesn’t smell in the slightest thank god !
Also no redness no, her tummy is red from her nappy as she did a big wee but the actual site isn’t red .

@shreddednips love your username . And thanks for the reassurance about worrying , it’s a very lonely time even my husband finds himself struggling as there just doesn’t seem to be proper support. My midwife did numerous referrals to the mental health team at hospital during my pregnancy and they refused to see me as I wasn’t suicidal so I’m not really holding out much hope for post natal support x

@Thirty2andBlue I ended up self referring for CBT because the perenatal mental health team refused to see me as I wasn’t suicidal . My midwife and consultant were fuming and tried so hard to get me help but they got nowhere . Awful experience it’s given me awful PTSD from anything pregnancy related as I associate it with such a hard time

@BruceAndMarley Don't label your feelings as abnormal just yet. I obviously don't know you or what normal is for your mental state, but I was a bundle of anxiety with my first. I had no idea what to do, what was normal, God the stuff I worried about!! And 7 years later there's still a lot to worry about. It's a really daunting idea being responsible for another human, never mind three... Try to step back a bit from the detail and remember that you do know more than you think. I was always reluctant to take them to the docs as worried about wasting their time, but after a while you get a good sense of when to go. I've only had a handful of rather embarrassing "err since I made the appointment he's basically perked up and is absolutely fine, sorry" moments, and most GPs are lovely about it, and are very used to how hard it is to judge. You're doing great, enjoy your lovely bundle!

Hi OP. Just to say I self referred for CBT for post natal anxiety. The trauma surrounding labour and birth resulted in the anxiety. CBT worked really well for me. Good luck!