Infections account for a quarter of all newborn deaths and the umbilical cord has been identified as a major route of newborn infections. To explore the meanings and practices related to the umbilical cord among caretakers of newborns in central Uganda. This was a qualitative study, designed to inform the design, and interpretation of a randomized controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of chlorhexidine use for the umbilical cord. We conducted 22 in-depth interviews exploring umbilical cord care practices among ten mothers, four health workers, five traditional birth attendants, and three men. We also conducted three focus group discussions with young mothers and elderly women. We used qualitative content analysis to analyze our findings and we borrow upon Mary Douglas’ concepts of dirt to present our findings. The umbilical cord had a symbolic position in newborn care. The way it was perceived and handled had far reaching consequences for the survival and wellbeing of the baby. The umbilical cord was a centre of anxiety, a possible gate to illness, a test of fatherhood and a signifier of parental responsibility. Hence, the umbilical cord and the way it was cared for played a part in the present and future survival of the baby, as well as the survival and wellbeing of the household. Persons other than the mother such as older female relatives were very influential in the care of the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord carried symbolic meanings, which extended beyond the newborn and the newborn period, and in turn influenced the various practices of umbilical cord care. The important position of the cord in local newborn care practices should be recognized and taken into consideration when scaling up newborn care interventions in the country.

中文翻译：

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“脐带就是孩子”：乌干达中部与脐带护理有关的含义和做法

感染占所有新生儿死亡的四分之一，而脐带已被确定为新生儿感染的主要途径。探索乌干达中部新生儿监护人中与脐带有关的含义和做法。这是一项定性研究，旨在为设计和评估评估氯己定用于脐带的有效性的随机对照试验提供信息。我们进行了22次深度访谈，探讨了十名母亲，四名卫生工作者，五名传统接生员和三名男子中的脐带护理方法。我们还与年轻的母亲和老年妇女进行了三个焦点小组讨论。我们使用定性内容分析法分析了我们的发现，并借鉴了玛丽·道格拉斯关于污垢的概念来提出我们的发现。脐带在新生儿护理中具有象征性的地位。它的感知和处理方式对婴儿的生存和福祉具有深远的影响。脐带是焦虑的中心，可能是疾病的大门，是对父亲的考验，也是父母责任的象征。因此，脐带及其护理方式在婴儿的现在和将来的生存以及家庭的生存和福祉中发挥了作用。母亲以外的人，例如年长的女性亲戚，对脐带的护理影响很大。脐带带有象征意义，其含义已超出新生儿和新生儿时期，进而影响了脐带护理的各种实践。