Real Reason Why You Must Take Umbilical Cord Care Seriously
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A health expert has advised parents to take umbilical Cord care seriously.
Dr Mohammed Abdulsalam of the paediatric’s department at Bayero University Kano gave this advice.
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In a chat with healthwise, he said improper care of the umbilical cord could lead to infant mortality and morbidity.
He urged parents to embrace healthcare centres for proper antenatal and postnatal treatment.
The northern-based medical consultant also revealed that some northern cultures disapprove of tying the cord after cutting it. He said that this could lead to bleeding and killing the infant.
He said:
“Deliveries at home are being attended to by traditional birth attendants.
“So, most of the atrocities are committed by unskilled birth attendants.
“Based on statistics, 43 per cent of deliveries in Nigeria are not attended to by health workers.
“In cutting the umbilical cord in some cultures, they expose babies to lots of infections.
“We have had cases here in the north where some of them will cut the umbilical cord and they will not tie it.
“They will leave the cord to bleed; just for the cord to stop bleeding on its own.
“In that situation, the baby will now bleed to death.”
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The paediatrician sent a strong warning to unskilled childbirth attendants. He said the use of unsterilized objects for cutting the umbilical cord causes infection.
He explained:
“They use unsterilised instruments which carry infections. The umbilical cord is where the baby gets nutrients from the mother while in the womb. Therefore, the umbilical cord is like a channel that leads into the bloodstream of the baby.
“Any unsterilised instrument that is used is like trying to implant those microorganisms that the instruments carry into the baby’s system, and the baby will end up having an infection like tetanus.
“For those that don’t tie the cord properly, the baby will end up losing blood immediately after delivery, and in that case, the baby can die from blood loss.”
Source: PUNCH Health Wise
