Congratulations on a successful child delivery! After nine months of carrying and labor pains, your little bundle of joy has finally made its debut into this world – the hardest part may not yet be over; but rest assured, any difficulty you encounter along the way will ultimately pay off in fulfilling motherhood!
Learning how to bathe a newborn can be daunting, and here at BabyCenter we have all the assistance you need! Here, we cover how to bathe a newborn like an expert – no one will even know this guide was your first experience at bathing an infant!
Newborn Hygiene 101 As a general guideline, parents should wait at least 24 hours post birth before giving their newborn its initial bath. You may extend this window up to 48 hours.
There are multiple reasons for this delay in delivery, the primary one being hypothermia risks. After living comfortably for nine months inside their mother’s womb, newborns might feel cold in an unfamiliar world and require time to regulate their own temperature effectively. Give them enough time for this process.
The second factor involves your baby’s coat of vernix. While its appearance might not be appealing, its purposeful presence on their delicate skin protects against drying air and also serves as an antibacterial shield.
Do not attempt to wash away the vernix yourself; rather, let it naturally shed. Therefore, start with gentle sponge baths in the first couple of weeks; only resorting to bathing once all vernix and umbilical cord stump have shed off.