Bath or no bath?

Question

After baby is born what does everyone do in regards to how the hospital bathes their newborn? I'm still trying to decide and I've seen a lot of different options and opinions on the matter on here and would love some insight! I know we're doing delayed cord clamping as long as everything goes smoothly if that matters.

Answer

We aren't going to do a bath at all when our son is born, we will most likely just lightly clean with a wet cloth if he gets dirty and not give him a bath with soaps for one to two weeks. We are using a birth center near a hospital though, and they let you make a lot more of your own choices in facilities like theirs. Some hospitals will only delay until after you've breastfed the baby once. We want our son to fully absorb his vernix, by doing that it can apparently help prevent some degree of eczema and baby acne. Both parents have eczema and super sensitive skin, so we are going to try and prevent as many issues as possible with his skin.

Answer

I've heard the trend is to delay it. I want the first few hours to be focused on bonding and encouraging breastfeeding.

Answer

With my 1st born, he had a bath within a few hours of being born and he had baby acne so bad. With my daughter I delayed it 24hrs to let the vernix coating. Soak into her skin and she's never had a blemish. He skins always been perfect. With this baby I will again wait the 24hrs.

Answer

With my first they bathed her the second day after delivery in the room with me. She was fine it was fine..

Answer

Our hospital bathes the baby hours after the baby is born. They're more concerned about baby bonding and feeding. I'm comfortable with that. Not sure if I'd want it done right away or much longer than that.

Answer

In my hospital, they clean baby while they're on you, skin to skin. Not really a bath per se but they clean baby up and then bring in the lactation consultant.

Answer

Thank you so much ladies!! This definitely helped! Definitely something I'm going to ask about in my hospital tour and if we can I think we'll try and delay 24 hours at least. You guys are the best!

Bath or no bath?

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