Bathing the Baby. Health Care and Safety

Bathing the baby. Most doctors recommend that a baby not have a tub bath until the stump of the umbilical cord has dried up and fallen off. This process usually takes from 7 to 10 days. Meanwhile, the baby can be given a daily sponge bath with a warm damp cloth.

Babies may have their first tub bath after the navel has healed. For about the first year after birth, they should be bathed in a small tub or basin rather than in a full-sized bathtub. It is much easier to manage babies this age in a small tub than in a large one. They especially need help in keeping their head above water. By about 12 months of age, most infants can control their posture well enough to be bathed in a regular bathtub. Babies should never be left unattended in their bath at any age.

A baby's bathwater should be comfortably warm, not hot Mild soaps are best for an infant's skin and may be used for washing the scalp as well as the rest of the body. Many parents soap the baby outside the tub and use the tub water for rinsing. The face should be washed without soap to avoid irritation to the eyes.

Babies may be bathed every day or every other day. They need fewer baths during winter than during summer. Washing the diaper area with a warm damp cloth at every diaper change helps prevent rashes.

The first tub bath is usually given about 7 to 10 days after birth, the time required for the navel to heal. Young babies should be bathed in a small tub or basin to prevent accidents

Clothing the baby. Babies must be dressed warmly enough to avoid chills. But even in cold weather, they need only a few simple kinds of clothing. Many babies are sensitive to wool. They should wear clothes made of cotton or synthetic materials.

Most children have to wear diapers from birth well past the age of 18 months. Some parents use cloth diapers, which must be washed after every use. If parents prefer not to wash diapers themselves, they may subscribe to a commercial diaper service. Such services both supply and launder the diapers. Other parents use disposable diapers, which are thrown away after use. Most disposable diapers are made of absorbent paper lined on the outside with a layer of plastic.

Indoors, a baby needs little more than a diaper and a shirt If it is cool indoors, the shirt may be replaced with a nightgown or light coverall suit Newborn infants are often wrapped in a cotton blanket for warmth.

Most babies enjoy being outdoors for a while during the day. An infant's skin burns easily and so should not be exposed to direct sunlight for more than a few minutes. For outdoor wear in cold weather, babies need a cap and such other extra clothing as a sweater and warm coverall suit.

Health care and safety. In many countries, including the United States and Canada, a mysterious disease called sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) ranks as the chief cause of death among infants from 1 to 12 months of age. The disease resembles suffocation. The victims, seemingly healthy children, die suddenly in bed. Scientists are working to find the cause of sudden infant death syndrome.

Less than 100 years ago, diphtheria, measles, and certain other infectious diseases killed many thousands of infants yearly. But since the early 1900's, scientists have developed vaccines that have greatly reduced the number of infant deaths from these diseases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all babies be vaccinated against 11 diseases—chickenpox, diphtheria, measles, mumps, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough, meningitis caused by the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae type b, and hepatitis B. See Immunization for a recommended schedule for receiving these vaccinations.

Accidents in the home cause many injuries and deaths among babies each year. Parents can do much to prevent such accidents. For example, they can help prevent serious burns by keeping babies away from flames and hot stoves. To avoid accidental poisoning, parents should keep medicines, household cleaners, and other chemicals in a cabinet out of a child's reach.

Parents should never leave a baby at home alone. Also, they should make sure the baby is secured in a specially designed safety seat when riding in a car. See Safety for information about preventing accidents, many of which could endanger a baby.

Additional resources:
Level I - Knight, Margy B. Welcoming Babies. Tilbury Hse., 1994. Manning, Mick, and Granstrom, Brita. The World Is Full of Babies!
Level II - Brown, Dennis, and Toussaint, P. A. Mama's Little Baby. The Black Woman's Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby's First Year Dutton, 1997.
Caring for You and Your Baby. Fairview Pr., 1997. Stoppard, Miriam. The New Parent The Essential Guide for All First-Time Mothers and Fathers. Dorling Kindersley, 1998.