What advice is there for bathing your baby from birth?
Dr. Valleteau de Moulliac,
Pediatric Consultant for Laboratoires Sarbec
This is a question you may rightly ask yourself. Be aware that the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued some recommendations on this subject. The WHO thus recommends wiping and drying the newborn quickly immediately after birth before placing them on their mother’s belly (skin-to-skin) or wrapping them in a warm, clean, and dry towel to minimize any heat loss as much as possible. Then, it is advised to wait at least six hours before bathing the baby for the first time. But this is very empirical and you can very well do it only on the second or third day. In the United States, some mothers wait up to 15 days, which is probably excessive. Remember that your baby is born covered with a white, greasy, wax-like layer (even more so if they are premature).
It is the vernix caseosa that is gradually absorbed by the skin when it is not cleaned off. It is known to have natural moisturizing properties that protect against bacterial and fungal infections in the first days and may help strengthen your baby’s immune defenses. Therefore, you can skip the bath at birth and wait a few hours for the first wash, as long as you do it properly and without heat loss.
Bathing your child right after birth is not necessary: it is better to keep them warm against you at first, which also encourages contact and interaction.
