Cord Care - How And What To Do

The spinal cord is an individual's life line to a healthy and mobile life while an umbilical cord is a baby�fs lifeline to the mother during the pregnancy period. Taking due cord care determines the health of the baby or the individual.

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Injury to the spinal cord may result in loss of use of a hand or foot, loss of feeling in any part of the body in milder cases, while major injury can include partial or total paralysis. An injury to the umbilical cord, whether mild or serious, can be life long repercussions on the unborn baby or severing of the umbilical cord can mean a failed pregnancy.

The umbilical cord, a life line of the baby to the mother during pregnancy, is no longer needed once the baby is born. As the umbilical cord is a place for an infection to enter the body, it is essential to take utmost care of the umbilical cord once the baby is born. Minutes after the baby is born, the umbilical cord is cut close to the navel and clamped. The clamp helps in stopping the bleeding from the blood vessels, arteries and the vein present in the umbilical cord. This clamp can be removed once the umbilical cord is completely dry and the cord itself falls off within two to three weeks. In the event of bleeding from the end of the cord near the skin, a yellow discharge, swelling or redness around the navel or signs that the baby�fs navel area is painful, a paediatrician should be contacted immediately for timely treatment.

About 45 centimetre long in men and 42 centimetres long in women the human spinal cord extends from the medulla oblongata and continues through conus medullaris terminating in a fibrous extension known as the filum terminale. The peripheral region of the spinal cord contains neuronal white matter housing the sensory and motor neurons. Inside this peripheral region is the nerve cell bodies which is the anatomic extension of the ventricles of the brain. The spinal cord acts as a messenger service for the brain and passes all the messages from the brain into the various parts of the body. Any injury to the spinal cord can affect this main function and lead to mild effects like loosing feeling or sensation in any one part of the body to serious ailments like partial or complete paralysis. Therefore, cord care takes on high importance for an individual in living a full and competent life.