Owing to cultural traditions and variations in global health care practices, umbilical cord care practices vary across countries. The use of topical human breast milk has been proposed as an important cord care regimen, because antimicrobial and healing properties and anti-inflammatory effects have been seen in human breast milk. Human breast milk, including leukocytes, epithelial cells, and stem cells, serves an infant's dietary needs and is also considered a medicinal agent. Therefore, topical application of human breast milk, baby atopic eczema diaper dermatitis, was successful in treating tender nipples. A safe, simple, cheap, and non-invasive approach to care for the umbilical cord is the topical application of human breast milk to the umbilical cord. Human breast milk is also an easily usable and anti-infective agent that is widely available for use in developing and advanced countries.
Key words: human breast milk, cord care, bacterial colonization, cord separation time.