Believe it or not, for several reasons the timing of your baby’s first bath has changed in recent years. Until recently, babies were usually bathed shortly after birth. Babies are covered with a protective thick, white coating called vernix. Some babies have more than others. They also are covered amniotic fluid and usually some of mom’s blood after delivery.
Newborns are definitely prone to get too cold and need to be dried off and covered with a blanket. Lying with their chest on the mom’s (or dad’s) chest skin-to-skin helps them stay warm and even helps blood sugar and oxygen levels.
Bathing, along with other medical procedures, delays skin to skin contact, and the first breastfeeding if mom desires to nurse the baby. Even if the mom does not plan to breastfeed, she may choose to give the baby colostrum after delivery and perhaps for the first few days.
It also turns out that the vernix protects the baby’s skin and helps prevent infection and the skin from drying out too fast.
Research shows that delaying the baby’s bath does not affect the baby’s overall body temperature or prevent the baby from getting too cold. The World Health Organization recommends delaying the baby’s bath for 24 hours, or if this is not possible for hospital or cultural reasons, to wait at least 6 hours after delivery.
Bathing the baby later also means that the staff can bathe the baby while the parent watches, giving the opportunity for teaching, and reducing the chance of parental anxiety if separated from the baby.
Delaying the baby’s first bath both improves the baby’s health and bonding with the parents and breastfeeding as well. It is part of an overall strategy to support bonding and breastfeeding by delaying many of the things that separate moms and dads from their babies, that make the process seem more medical, clinical, and artificial rather than normal and natural. It also happens to be better for the baby’s health.
Some hospitals are not yet delaying baths (and other procedures); you may want to try to deliver at a hospital that practices newer, evidence-based family-friendly practices.
