only parents are supposed to hold baby first few days of being born.

aryandnicole · October 2009

My husband is a nurse at a hospital and i work at the hospital also but as a nurses aid. My husband is friends with a infectious disease doctor and this doctor told my husband that only the parents should hold the baby first week or few days after delivery. Because of the baby being brand new and all the different germs. Has anyone ever heared this before????

Anna&Matt · October 2009

I think that's a little overly cautious. My dad is an OB and my best friend is an OB nurse and both say that we should just be sure that everyone who holds the baby washes their hands first.

kina_21 · October 2009

That's what I've always heard. Like no one is supposed to hold the LO until a month later aside from parents and very close family.

aryandnicole · October 2009

somebody will have to hose my mother off before she holds the baby. she reeks of cigarette smoke. its enough to make your eyes water when she comes into the room.

kieransgirl09 · October 2009

ohh please that is so stupid. germaphobic. stupid. id like to try and stop my mom dad mil fil etc from holding Brady! I would never. a little bit of germs its okay you can't live in a bubble!

megandjohn08 · October 2009

My parents and in laws would think I was crazy if I requested they not hold their grandchild when they drive all the way out to visit. I'm not too worried.

ScissorTailedFlycatcher · October 2009

I'm pretty sure babies have survived coming into contact with worse.

hollybabe · October 2009

megandjohn08:
My parents and in laws would think I was crazy if I requested they not hold their grandchild when they drive all the way out to visit.

This. I would need security detail 24/7 at my house to keep the grandmothers away from the baby.

Ciconrad · October 2009

I'm not a big believer in having 30 people over and passing the kid around like a trophy, However, I would never keep my parents or DH's parents from holding their grandchild for a week! That seems a bit restrictive.

gizmo909 · October 2009

Unless your LO has a compromised immune system for some reason, other people should be fine as long as they wash their hands. DH and I were the only ones allowed to hold DS while he was in the NICU, but once he came home, others could as long as they washed up.

Temp36641187503164 · October 2009

I've heard that for bonding with the parents. We have decided to have the baby in the room with us 100% of the time and if the baby HAS to be taken out of the room we will go with him. DH and I are also the only ones that will hold him for the first week. It's more for bonding, but also because of germs. We also don't want any visitors other than our parents (no best friends, nieces or nephews, brothers or sisters and grandparents) while we are in the hospital and for 3-5 days after we get home.

When we accept visitors only close family and my 2 best girlfriends are going to be allowed to hold the baby and we are going make everyone wash their hands first. Both of DH's grandmothers smoke and they won't be holding Robert for a long time and they will have to change shirts and "wash up" before we let them.

I don't care if I sound like a paranoid b!tch. I went through 4 years of infertility and 3 m/c.

g8trkim · October 2009

That sounds crazy. What about all the nurses and the doctor. They can carry germs too. Plus, I couldn't imagine my good friends and relatives coming to visit us at the hospital and telling them they're not allowed to pick up the baby. I've never ever heard of this. Obviously if someone has a cold or something they logically wouldn't hold them.

AmyMcMommy · October 2009

I agree with hand washing and keeping the amount of people in the hospital to a min... but that seems a little crazy

MLE_C2B · October 2009

When I was born I got a staph infection from a nurse on the student-nurse rotation. I'm sure my mom was furious, but my immune system has been phenomenal ever since so I can't be too mad. Anyway, what's the point of hurting close family members feelings when you're just as likely to get something from a nurse or doctor? That's my take on it anyway.

MrsRebecca · October 2009

I have no problems with people I know holding my kid. If I was so afraid to put my child's life in their hands, I probably wouldn't be friends with them.

Just make sure people wash their hands, etc. and you'll be fine.

aryandnicole · October 2009

thats what i thought hand washing should be enough. the only reason someone shouldnt hold baby is if they are sick.

starz4him08 · October 2009

Try tellin' that to my family, lol! It makes sense though. Just ask people to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer. That should be good.

RooBear · October 2009

So other people's germs are more dangerous to baby than your's and DH's germs? If germs are the real issue, it should matter who holds the baby as long as they wash their hands, including the parents.

A_seattle · October 2009

that sounds ridiculous! So many people held DD within hours of her being born! Is this because of the H1N1 thing?? I can understand that a little more, but what is the difference between germs on days 1 or 2 and germs on week 2?

taagent · October 2009

All 5 of my neices and nephews should have been seriously ill then. EVERYONE held them! Plus one of my nephews stayed overnight with us when he was just 2 weeks old!

yourmomwreckedmybike · October 2009

Every book I have read says that babies should be handled by just the parents for the first few weeks, because they are sensitive to smells and germs..

kristinem17 · October 2009

That's probably a bit exagerated... but basically the rule is that those who hold or touch a newborn should have properly cleaned hands and not be sick with a cold etc either... in our case, we wont be having anyone at the hospital nor at our home until the baby is 1 week old. Our parents aren't even coming over until 8 weeks out.....

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