For many years, bathing after birth was a common practice in maternity hospitals. The reason was, surely, to remove the vernix caseosa and the remains of the stay in the womb, as a start from scratch. However, it has been seen that there is no hurry to bathe them and that, in a way, it might even be beneficial not to do so, due to temperature and well-being.
Already a few months ago Eva told us about a campaign that aimed to maintain the vernix of children for a few hours after birth. Today we will delve a little into the topic to explain the other reasons why it was decided stop bathing babies at birth.
What is the benefit of bathing babies?
The only benefit of bathing babies at birth is that of leave them clean and presentable. A baby full of a fatty and sticky substance and even with patches of dry blood and glued hair is, at first glance, a slightly careless baby (not that it is, it is the sensation it produces) and we all like it when we see Children with white, soft and silky skin, clean hair and smelling of baby.
The problem is that this seems to be the only benefit and, in fact, it is quite superficial as far as concept is concerned, because the image of the baby can wait a little and in terms of health it does not imply any advantage.
On the other hand, it has possible disadvantages, such as the loss of temperature that occurs when wetting it and the separation of the mother at a time when the most advisable is not to separate them, but to leave them in skin-to-skin contact.
What is the benefit of not bathing them?
As I just said, not bathing helps avoid a loss of body temperature and it helps that mother and baby do not lose skin-to-skin contact at any time, that which is so beneficial both to establish breastfeeding and to continue with the bond that both create on the day the pregnancy test appears positive.
On the other hand, although the effect or function of the vernix is unknown, it is known that in case of not bathing the baby his skin ends up reabsorbing it. This makes suspect that it could have some beneficial effect on the skin, perhaps moisturizing and helping to protect it from infections and the mentioned loss of temperature.
As there is also no contraindication not to bathe them, it is best to wait to bathe them.
What if parents want to be bathed?
It may happen that some parents request the baby's bath. In this case, the ideal is to explain the recommended wait for the moment when the baby is considered stable, thermally speaking, and once the minimum recommended time has elapsed in skin-to-skin contact (usually until you take the first shot).
