View Full Version : Bathing a baby straight after birth?
luckymama
13-05-2007, 12:37
I think this is the right section, as it was in the book i was reading about active birth.
It mentioned you should bath a baby in warm water straight after birth to acclimatise it to being born. Has anyone had an active birth, and then done this?
The reason i am asking is that i have heard from other people you shouldnt give a baby a bath till a few days after birth as its better for their skin.
What do you think, i want to have everything as much as i can as an active birth.
I've had 3 natural births where baby has been fine (no distress ect) and each time they have been placed straight onto me for skin on skin contact with warm towles over bub for a good half hour before i gave bub their first b/f.
They gave my 1st baby a qick sort of bath as he was born c-section and was taken up the the icu for a few hours..he came back to me after 4 hours and they told me they gave him a just a quick clean.
I bathed all my babies at the hospital on day 2 :)
I think this is just a personal decision....I dont think it matters either way.
I (and DH when I had a shower) prefered to hold my baby skin to skin for hours and hours (as this was stolen from me with my first 3). DS4 wasnt actually dressed for about 8 hours, just me and him under the blankets (till he pooped for the 2nd time, so he was wiped up and nappied and dressed). I didnt actually bathe him for about a week, as I didnt want to remove any vernix and I wanted to the newborn scent to linger.....it was beautifully intoxicating.
Had I managed to stay in the spa bath and had him in water, he of course would have been bathed as he emerged from my body :laughing:
FourAngelKisses
13-05-2007, 13:56
The hospital I had all my kids at wont bath the babies until after 24hrs as it is better for their skin the longer you hold off.
stellarella
13-05-2007, 14:02
DS didnt get a bath til he was 4 days old, I wanted to preserve that new born amniotic scent for as long as possible...it was divine!
He even had blood on his forehead for a while which horrified my mum, but he came out really clean to begin with, very little blood and mucous.
My understanding is that babies aren't bathed till a few days later now as their bodies dont do well with dramatically varying temps to start with. Not sure if this is right though.
HollowLegs
13-05-2007, 14:22
My DD got a quick clean up with a towel once she was born as she was pretty messy (when my waters finally broke there was meconium), but i still didn't get to bathe her till day 2. Plenty of blood & poo in her hair that didn't come out till the bath
PunkyDiva
13-05-2007, 14:30
My first three were born early 90's and I think it was the done thing then to bath baby immediately. By late 90's and baby no 4 a lot had changed and I bathed her back in the ward. Bub no 5 was born in Scotland and as there was only one bath for 20 odd babies I waited till I got home cause that just grossed me out.
I found a warm bath the best way of settling my babies in those early weeks, allowing them to float on their bellies supporting under their chin so face above water like back in the womb, and never had any issues with dry skin etc. I only used water though no soaps etc. Any dry patches a teeny bit of olive oil fixed.
Hmm... I suppose when you think about the theories behind having a water birth it makes sense...
But usually they don't bath babies straight away.. they let the skin absorb the natural vernix covering, as it's full of goodness and stuff :thumbsup:
our little treasures
13-05-2007, 14:51
With my first I had her skin to skin and we didn't bath her until day 2. With DS he was taken away as he was born not breathing and had a seizure but even after all that we didn't bath him until day 2! They reccomend you hold of as all that muck is really good for their skin. ALso I heard that the baby feels more at ease because it smells familiar.
Mum&bubs
13-05-2007, 15:00
All my kids got was a wipe down straight after a cuddle with me. They didn't have a bath for 2 days.
Wish_Bear
13-05-2007, 15:09
My understanding is that babies aren't bathed till a few days later now as their bodies dont do well with dramatically varying temps to start with. Not sure if this is right though.
Yep :yes: With both mine it was 24 hrs after birth so they could acclimatise and get their body temps right before being washed.
Personally I have put it off as long as possible. DS was about a week old and DD was 3 days.:yes:
motherlylove
13-05-2007, 15:30
The hospital I had all my kids at wont bath the babies until after 24hrs as it is better for their skin the longer you hold off.
that was the same as the hospital i had dd at they dont bath them for 24 hours
reAllytee
13-05-2007, 15:33
Boof was placed straight onto my tummy but then taken away as neither of us were healthy. THey only wiped him down & he wasnt bathed for 2days.
With this bubs i will probably wait longer !
dd was bathed on day 2 (middie was teaching dh) ds wasnt bathed until day 5! he was in ncu for a few days i love the fresh spell of a new bub :yes:
luckymama
13-05-2007, 17:46
hey thanks for your replies ladies,
I think i will wait for a few days to give him a bath :thumbsup: seems to be the better thing to do :yes:
RaryGirl
13-05-2007, 18:11
I was with my sister for the birth of my niece and they placed her on my sisters chest immediately after birth and then when they had to stitch my sister up (over an hour and half later by the time the Dr got there) they bought a bath in and my BIL bathed my niece. It is the first time I've heard of a bath so early but my little niece was so alert and looked up at us silently the whole time.
cheezelkat
13-05-2007, 18:29
Liam was given a bath by the midwife straight after his first breastfeed, whilst I showered.
I had no idea it wasn't standard practice to wait until finding bubhub.
with my first 2 i was knocked out ( 2 general ana. c/sīs) so they were bathed immediately after birth,
with no.3 however i had an epidural and didnīt allow them to bath bubby- we ended up bathing him at home after 3 or 4 days.
so- the later the better, IMHO! :thumbsup:
Jacy was bathed the day i went home from hospy which would have been Day 4 and Caleb had one about day 2. At the hospital i went to they dont bath them straight away they told me why but i cant remember:o:p
LotusMum
14-05-2007, 14:37
I had an active birth and I left bathing for four days. I did this because the vernix is great for their skin. Its a protective layer that helps moisturise and keep any nasties away. Its a personal choice, but its not likely bubs is going to be getting dirty. Up to you though.
I was actually quite mad as they bathed my son straight away and I didnt even get asked. I wanted to be the first to bath him. My son wasnt even that bad, just a small amount of blood on his forehead that could have been wiped off.
This time I will be telling them first, dont bath my son at all. I think its good for them to still have the smell of the fluid and vernix on them for a few days.
This time I will be telling them first, dont bath my son at all. I think its good for them to still have the smell of the fluid and vernix on them for a few days.
I love band new baby smell, it's soo nice maybe thats why i didnt bath the boys for a few days:D
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