Umbilical cord care

Etiology / Pathophysiology

• Newborn cord stump dries and separates after birth.
• Open stump can become infected if kept wet/contaminated.

Medications

No specific medication class was seeded for this card.

Nursing actions

• Keep cord clean and dry; fold diaper below stump.
• Report redness spreading onto skin, foul drainage, fever, or poor feeding.
• Do not pull stump off.

Complications

• Omphalitis
• Sepsis

NCLEX cues

• Cord should dry and fall off naturally.
• Redness at base that spreads is concerning.

Memory hooks

• Cord care: dry, clean, leave it alone.

Labs / Diagnostics

• Trend assessment findings and ordered diagnostics; verify exact values with school source material.

Review notes

• Session-derived study seed. Verify against school materials, ATI/NCLEX review sources, current orders, and facility policy before relying on details.