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Bathing a newborn at the hospital. To wait or not to wait?

JustBored10JustBored10 member
in September 2017 Moms
Hello!  After watching a Mommy Vlog she did not give her baby a bath until almost two weeks after delivery (she waited until the cord fell off) and it got me curious as to why.  So I did some research and I guess it is recommended to delay a first bath.  I am not sure I will wait until the cord falls off but I guess I would like to wait at least a week. Any thoughts or opinions?  With my first he was bathed almost right away by a nurse. 
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Re: Bathing a newborn at the hospital. To wait or not to wait?

  • mc123mcmc123mc member
    The nurses will clean the baby at the hospital but you should not bathe your baby until it's cord falls off at home. You can wash them with warm water on a washcloth but they should not be put into water until cord is off. 
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  • wannabeamongoosewannabeamongoose member
    We waited a little more than a week before the first bath, mostly because we were paranoid that this would be our first opportunity to really screw up and kill our baby. We were told a bath is fine prior to the cord falling off, but to use a very low water line so that the water wouldn't come up to the stub, and to be careful not to splash water on it.

    I think the WHO recommendation is to wait 2-3 days. The biggest reasons to wait are to encourage skin to skin, which improves bonding and breast feeding (ie: don't whisk the baby away shortly after birth for bath time). Bathing too soon makes it harder for baby to regulate body temperature (they come from inside momma's warmth into the cold brutal world. Then we stick them in a nice toasty bath and pull them back out again all wet and cold. It's just too much temperature change if done too early). And, the waxy coating on baby is supposed to act as a natural moisturizer and antibiotic to protect baby. After a few days though, baby's internal temp will have naturally regulated and the coating will rub off and won't be providing that protection anymore so go ahead and bath away.

    All that being said, I think the common practice in US hospitals is to bath baby pretty early on (like within hours of birth). Personally, if I were birthing in a hospital where baths are routine, I would request that the nurses not bathe baby.

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  • MyNamesTakenMyNamesTaken member
    We bathed DS in the hospital after about 24 hours but he was wiped off after delivery. It was more a sponge bath though. We didn't actually put him in the water until he could hold his head up
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  • JustBored10JustBored10 member
    I just read that the benefits of the coating on the baby being good for them and they truly are not "dirty" after birth. I also read about it helping with breastfeeding. The more I read the more I want to wait until the cord falls off and savor that sweet baby smell!  
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  • stephy_pstephy_p member
    Thanks for asking this! I think I watched the same blog (Nat & Wes?) and previously had no idea you should wait any time at all to bathe a baby. The more I learn, the more I realize I have no idea on how to take care of a baby!
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  • wyomama0427wyomama0427 member
    lap018 said:
    are you saying you want to leave the vernix on until the cord falls off?
    This was my question too. Not sure tho because she mentioned a sweet baby smell and I thought DS smelled better after he was clean. Lol. 
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  • wyomama0427wyomama0427 member
    lap018 said:
    wyomama0427 said:
    lap018 said:
    are you saying you want to leave the vernix on until the cord falls off?
    This was my question too. Not sure tho because she mentioned a sweet baby smell and I thought DS smelled better after he was clean. Lol. 
    Lol preach. And I mean if there's meconium in their amniotic fluid at all I cannot imagine that smelling good. Especially not 2 weeks later. I think it's just the first 24-48 hours after birth you should delay the water bath. DS had his a day or two after being born (though he was wiped clean at delivery) and he had no hypoglycemic episodes, no temperature regulation issues, and he breastfed beautifully. I don't think "sweet baby smell" is what you'll be smelling if it's the vernix you're wanting to stay on until the cord falls off. 
    Yessss. DS was bathed in the hospital by a very lovely nurse, but we didn't bathe him at home for a little over a week because it was January and very dry and his skin was so dry that it took us a few different lotions to control it. Overall I was happy he was bathed, he never had any issues either! 
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  • DPandMBDPandMB member
    I will just add that with DD she spit up a good bit and area in the neck folds, really starts to smell bad. We did a few wipe downs/sponge baths before the cord fell off.




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  • JustBored10JustBored10 member
    @stephy_p yes! Same vlog!  And yes I want to leave the vernix on.  From what I researched it is completely OK even if there is meconium in the fluid.  I will bring it up to my midwife and see what she thinks at my next appointment. I am a STM and still learning everyday but I am trying to be prepared as possible when I go to do my birth plan.
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  • tfrangultfrangul member
    Both my kids were bathed in the hospital before we left. They were fine. No temp issues or breast feeding issues. Maybe I'm a terrible person but I wanted all that other stuff off...
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  • JustBored10JustBored10 member
    @tfrangul no judgement here! I just thought it was an interesting topic!
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  • Jamiern01Jamiern01 member
    @tfrangul I'm right there with you. My babies got baths and never had any issue with blood sugar, temperature, or breast feeding!!
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  • iheartichiiheartichi member
    @wyomama0427 same exact thing! We didn't give him baths very often like I know some people do, only when he was actually dirty. Annnnnnnd.....same stil applies now that's he's over 2. He's as healthy as can be! 

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  • LuckyPenny1231LuckyPenny1231 member
    Eh, my second was given a bath a few hours after birth. She pooped all over herself (and me) when she was born. She needed a bath. It didn't affect breastfeeding at all. 
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  • ColoradoHikerColoradoHiker member
    DS was wiped off after birth pretty well, but he had a lot of hair when he was born, and it was disgusting until we got him home and into his first bath.  I'd say he had it less than a week after birth?  Our ped was fine with it, for as long as the cord didn't get wet.  The cord is the gross part, and that can definitely smell after a while.  
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  • msashley2010-2msashley2010-2 member
    DD was bathed by the nurses after she was born. I did not bathe her in the hospital but I did give her a bath the day we brought her home. She hated it, lol. 
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  • lilpootslilpoots member
    DS was cleaned up right away. He was a csection baby, so covered in blood. I didn't want him bathed(because we wanted to do it), but my hospital was kind of pushy about this and he was designated to go to nicu. I don't think he was bathed again until we got home, 5 days later. It was more of a sponge bath for the first few weeks, in the bath little sling.
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  • satuttle1014satuttle1014 member
    With my 1st I was in the hospital 2 full days. Gave birth Friday and went home Sunday. Late Friday DD got a bath. 
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  • wyomama0427wyomama0427 member
    @lilpoots DS was also a c-section baby, even after he was wiped off after birth he still had my blood on him in places. Definitely needed a bath. I didn't get to see him immediately after birth because I was under general and they made DH wait outside in the outside waiting room so by the time they went and got him DS had already been wiped off too. 
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  • lilpootslilpoots member
    @wyomama0427 <3 
    I wasn't upset with the nurses, but if I had my way, I would have preferred DH clean him up. More of a "firsts" thing, than any health concern. It was requested in my birth plan. I know they didn't get him totally clean, because there are blood stains on his first onesie and hat.
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  • wyomama0427wyomama0427 member
    @lilpoots I feel the EXACT same way. I told DH this time that I want us to do the first bath/clean up. One nurse bathed DS at like 3am when DH was sleeping and I needed sleep. She was so sweet and she loved snuggling our little guy and I was pretty thankful for the sleep. But I still feel like I missed out on SO many firsts
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  • CarebellaCarebella member
    I definitely would of been in the waiting camp but DS had meconium on him and was bathed at the hospital. We waited until his cord fell out to do a bath at home. 
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