Natural Birth and Baby Care.com

What Happens To The Umbilical Cord After Birth ?

by Chanice Bourgeois
(Los Angelas, CA)

Where does it go?

Answer:

Hi Chanice,

The umbilical cord is what connects the baby to the placenta in the womb. After birth the umbilical cord is cut. It's cut close to the baby so most of it stays with the placenta.

A little bit of it is left with the baby. This is either tied off, clamped, or has a very tiny, specialized rubber band put around it. A tie or clamp will be removed after a couple of days. The rubber band remains as long as the cord stump.

A baby's cord stump begins to dry up immediately after birth and continues to do so for the next several days. The drying cord stump remains attached to the baby during this time.

Eventually, it dries up enough to fall off and the baby is left with a perfect belly button! This can take anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks, depending on the baby.

It's really pretty amazing to see a perfect little belly button there once the final bit of cord falls away!