Natural Remedies for Newborn Cord Care
Modified on May 22, 2017
Proper care of a newborn baby's umbilical cord is essential to prevent infection and facilitate healing. Natural remedies to care for a newborn's cord stump include goldenseal and turmeric, in addition to proper hygiene practices.
The care of a newborn baby’s umbilical cord has had many variations over the centuries. Many of the remedies used for generations are effective; others may be benign at best and dangerous at worst. Around the world some remedies that have been used to treat a newborn’s cord stump include butter, chewed rice, lotion, mustard oil, baby powder and even cow dung. None of these are recommended for helping the cord stump to heal!
Because the umbilical stump can become infected until it completely dries up and falls off as a scab would, proper care and cleanliness is important. Death by infection is not uncommon among babies worldwide. Unfortunately, some cord care traditions and lack of proper sanitation contribute to this risk.
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