baby's first bath

[jmg762]

Hi, I am looking for a couple of articles to support delaying the baby's first bath. I have a client who wants to know when she should bathe her baby & intuitively knows she wants to wait. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Julie

[douladot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmg762 Hi, I am looking for a couple of articles to support delaying the baby's first bath. I have a client who wants to know when she should bathe her baby & intuitively knows she wants to wait. Any suggestions? Thanks! Julie

I'm not quite sure what you mean by delaying.....I know you are supposed to wait until after the umbilical cord has fallen off before the first real submersion bath. Do you mean waiting longer than that???

[Tiffany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by douladot I'm not quite sure what you mean by delaying.....I know you are supposed to wait until after the umbilical cord has fallen off before the first real submersion bath. Do you mean waiting longer than that???

This isn't exactly true. At my homebirth the midwives got me into the tub with the baby just hours after, and being accustomed to OB care, I was like what!? The baby can come into the bath with me? They said just to make sure you dry the umbilical area well after.

That is the only way I bathed Olivia for the next month.. got right into the tub with her and held her in my arms.

As for delaying the bath, what is the benefit to this? I realize vernix is like the best moisturizer you can get but is there not a point it becomes old and rotting like everything else?

[demetria]

I know we suggest waiting a day or so, so the vernix can be absorbed into the skin.
The WHO suggests not washing it off, and that is good enough for me, lol..
Here are some article links
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB...name=80488.pdf

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2005.tb01821.x

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/519767

Demetria

[douladot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiffany This isn't exactly true. At my homebirth the midwives got me into the tub with the baby just hours after, and being accustomed to OB care, I was like what!? The baby can come into the bath with me? They said just to make sure you dry the umbilical area well after. That is the only way I bathed Olivia for the next month.. got right into the tub with her and held her in my arms. As for delaying the bath, what is the benefit to this? I realize vernix is like the best moisturizer you can get but is there not a point it becomes old and rotting like everything else?

Wow -- I didn't realize this. Around here, and we all know I live in SMALL TOWN, USA ... it is suggested to wait until the cord completely falls off. Now I am a little concerned at what I should suggest at the newborn baby care classes I am going to do.....what is taught around here or maybe both and let the parents decide.....

[DouLaura]

In a hospital setting a problem with the baby being bathed (not immersed just sponged) immediately after birth (like in the first hour or two) is that now the baby is wet and can be cold so they want to put the baby back in the "heater" and the parents "can't" hold the baby. So I always encourage my parents to delay/refuse the first bath in the hospital or if they go with the bath to do skin to skin to keep the baby warm. Of course not every nurse is OK with that and it can cause a ruckus, so avoiding the bath is the best plan.

[doula Michele]

I guess every place is different, here they ( hospital staff) make sure they teach new parents how to bath, so baby has a bath before 24 hours when mom goes home.
We always bathed both kids right away, pics of the tummy stump attatched and they are in the sink! Yeah... they love those pics.

[sldsheppard]

UMMM yes the bath. In the hospital it will cause a ruckus since the baby is looked at as a biohazard until it is washed (you know blood and fluids and stuff) so it is good to make sure rooming in is done, be sure you put on the birth plan that parents want to do first bath or the nursery will. The nursery will usually wait for a couple hours until the baby's temperature is stable (and mom is restng after the birth) before the "sponge bath" and it is a wet and chilling experience. I did the Leboyer bath with my children a millon years ago. This last one I had in the car only went to the nursery for weight and then I left and went home 1 1/2 hours later she had all her baths in the tub with me. My other 3 also got baths with mommy in the tub with the umbilical cord immersed they loved the floating senstion they were so used to in utero when I cradled their head in my hands. None of my children were nursery bathed as I ALWAYS left by 6 hours post delivery and never let them go to the nursery( as I did not want Vit K or goop in the eyes and some one would certainly "forget" since the policy was their routine) and would have gone earlier if they hadnt lied to me that my Rhogam wasnt ready yet and I HAD to have it before I left. I havent heard any specific reason to delay bathing but no reason to do it either the child was in a sterile enviornment and hasnt been out to play in the mud so hasn't gotten dirty per se. The vernix usually absorbs in the first day except if very thick and it doesnt wash off easily anyway (have you ever tried?) you NEED soap to break down the grease in it and babied DO NOT need to be washed with soap. Frankly mom should know best on when and how to clean her baby. BUT on the note I also would NOT take a tub bath with my baby in the hospital and especially in a whirlpool tub. First of all no matter how much bleach we run in those tubs the jets harbor a HOST of bacteria and you do not want that near your newborn and second while your baby is used to your germs it seems that hospitals have tons of germs they cannot even kill with antibiotics and the tub has been used by many women with germs the baby is not accustomed to and potential to get sick is too high for me there.

[Liebe Mutti]

Does anyone here use breastmilk instead of soap?

[demetria]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liebe Mutti Does anyone here use breastmilk instead of soap?

I have. I also used breastmilk for everything else too

[apikailaa]

I have heard (and believe) that it is not good to bathe the baby right away. Waiting is best. First of all it does give the vernix time to absorb into the skin. Secondly the "womb" smell (which I don't think is unpleasant) helps baby adjust better to life on the outside. It's a comfort measure that enhances bonding between mom and baby. I believe that a gentle "towel dry" is all baby needs after birth and can remain unbathed for the first few days. Just my .