Paediatricians have said delaying bathing babies for at least six hours after birth protects them from infections and cold besides other proven health benefits.
The child health experts explained that during the first few hours after birth, the babies were still adjusting to the outside environment, and bathing them immediately disrupted their natural physiological processes, such as temperature regulation and hormonal balance.
The physicians clarified that the protective vernix caseosa, a creamy substance that covers a baby’s skin in the womb, helps to regulate the baby’s body temperature, provides moisture, and contains antimicrobial properties that shield the baby from infections.
The experts also stressed that delaying the bath allows for essential bonding time between the newborn and the parents, facilitating skin-to-skin contact that promotes attachment and breastfeeding.
A study by the International Childbirth Education Association shows that delaying the bath of a baby after birth could have a significant impact on the newborn’s survival.
The ICEA encouraged parents and care providers to embrace the practice, emphasising that it was endorsed by regulating bodies and, when done right, remains safe for families and care providers.
“Delaying bathing for at least eight hours after birth protects the newborn’s skin from bacterial invasion, keeps their skin conditioned, and keeps their blood sugar stable since bathing might lower their temperature and often cause the baby to cry, both of which can promote hypoglycemia,” it added.
According to the World Health Organisation, bathing should be delayed until 24 hours after birth or at least six hours if this is not possible due to cultural reasons.
The global health body re-emphasised the key elements of newborn care, including delayed bathing, skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, and immunisation.
They stated that given the vulnerability of preterm and low-birth-weight babies, interventions are needed to identify these newborns in care.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise in different interviews, the paediatricians said delaying the first bath protects the baby from infections and colds while encouraging the establishment of breastfeeding and bonding between mother and child.
The doctors pointed out that delaying babies’ baths after delivery helps healthcare providers monitor the baby’s health status during this critical period.
Dr Stanley Onah
A Consultant Paediatrician at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Dr Stanley Onah, said delaying the first bath of a newborn to at least six hours after birth protects the baby from infections and hypothermia.
He explained that during the initial hours of life, the babies are still adjusting and trying to acclimatise to the outside environment, emphasising that bathing them immediately could disrupt their natural physiological processes, such as temperature regulation and hormonal balance.
Highlighting other benefits associated with the delay, Onah said, “This practice protects the babies against cold and affords the babies the opportunity of acclimatisation with their new environment and gradually aligning with the new temperature.
“One of the benefits of this practice is that it prevents the baby from suffering hypothermia. Hypothermia is a low temperature. If the baby is coming from a womb environment, you don’t want the baby to come from a warm environment to a very cold environment. The baby could suffer some chemo-dynamic changes in that situation.
“So, you want to maintain as much as possible what the baby was encountering in the uterine environment so that the baby will acclimatise to the new environment.”
He noted that protective vernix caseosa also helps to regulate the baby’s body temperature, provides moisture, and contains antimicrobial properties that shield the baby from infections.
