Unless there is a foul odor or inflammation around the stump, there is no cause for worry while it remains in place. In most cases the stump falls off painlessly when an infant is between 7 and 10 days old. The newborn baby's liver may be temporarily too immature to remove the normal by-products of the breakdown of extra red cells that were needed during the fetal period. As a result, babies may be jaundiced for the first few days, which is normally not a cause for alarm. For the first few days after birth a baby's skin may be dry.
Many newborn babies have skin that is covered with soft, furry hair.
This is called lanugo, and gradually disappears. Infants' fingernails used to be covered with mittens in the hospital nursery to prevent scratches. There is no need to cover the baby's hands at home, but the nails should be trimmed with a blunt-nosed scissors while the baby is asleep. It is not true, as doctors used to think, that babies are deaf and blind at birth. Newborns will focus on a parent's face and follow it with their eyes.