Is it OK to not bath a baby for a week?

parents.com - How Often Should You Bathe Your Newborn? - Parents

How do you know if your bladder isn't emptying?

The symptoms of urinary retention can range from severe abdominal pain and the inability to urinate, to few or no symptoms at all. Urinary...

Last updated Dec 30, 2019

What is the most common health problem?

The most common health issues are physical inactivity and food, obesity, tobacco, substance abuse, AIDS, mental health, falling and injury,...

Last updated Oct 7, 2022

Promotion

Bath time might be part of your nightly ritual, but doctors actually don't recommend daily baths for babies. Excess exposure to water can zap their skin of moisture and worsen conditions like eczema. Then again, not bathing your baby often enough can also aggravate eczema, plus lead to other infections. "It's a delicate balance," says Scott Grant, M.D., MPH, FAAP, at Detroit Medical Center's Children's Hospital of Michigan. But bathing itself is probably not the entire problem: "The use of bath products, including lotions that contain dyes or fragrances, can react with babies' skin to make eczema worse even if there isn't a 'bath,'" says Dr. Grant.

When To Bathe a Newborn for the First Time

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), newborn babies should not get their first bath until 24 hours after birth; if a full day is not possible, they recommend waiting at least 6 hours after your baby is born. Delaying your baby's bath can have several different benefits, such as:

Helping your baby keep their body temperature stable and preventing hypothermia

Helping stabilize your baby's blood sugar

Improving breastfeeding success if you will be nursing

Encouraging bonding with you and any other caregivers

Helping moisturize your baby's skin

Preserving beneficial bacteria on your baby's skin

Most hospitals are very familiar with the AAP's stance on delaying the newborn bath and many hospitals have a policy for a delayed bath, but many don't. Either way, you can ask staff ahead of time if you have any concerns about delaying your newborn's first bath. When your baby comes home and is ready for baths, you'll want to stick with sponge baths until after their umbilical cord stump falls off—usually a couple of weeks after birth. You must also rely on sponge baths until circumcision incisions heal.

How Often You Should Bathe Your Newborn

Experts generally agree that parents can safely bathe their newborns three times a week. That said, there is no hard and fast rule about how often you should bathe your infant. The AAP notes that three baths a week should be plenty for a newborn, but if you want to bathe your baby even less frequently, that's fine too! In general, you can bathe your baby when they are dirty or if you notice that distinctive "cheese" starting to set in in their skin folds.

What is a hormonal belly?

So, what exactly is hormonal belly? A hormonal belly is lower abdominal weight gain caused by an imbalance of hormones. Hormones help regulate many...

Last updated May 11, 2019

Who have gorgeous eyes in the world?

1. Angelina Jolie. It is a sacrilege to talk about beautiful eyes, and not talk about Jolie's blue eyes. The woman, apart from her award-winning...

Last updated Dec 27, 2019

Promotion

"Obviously there are unique messes that babies can find themselves in as they get older and more mobile that may require an extra bath from time to time," says Dr. Grant. "But in general, this rule is sufficient as long as the diaper area is cleaned appropriately at each diaper change."

Cleaning Your Baby Between Baths

Just as you'd still apply deodorant when forgoing your own shower, certain baby parts need attention daily whether they're getting a full-on bath or not. "Be sure that you're cleaning the diaper area well, especially following stool or 'poopy' diapers, in between skin folds," Dr. Grant advises. For instance, to properly clean a vulva, make sure you wipe front to back using a clean unscented wipe and check the folds for trapped stool. Don't skimp on the baby-safe lotion, either. "Daily application can help prevent eczema outbreaks, so this might be a useful replacement for bathtime in the bedtime routine," says Dr. Grant. "This is especially important for babies who have already shown signs of eczema or have siblings or parents with eczema."

The Bottom Line

To recap, bathing your baby no more than three times a week is perfectly healthy, given that you wipe the diaper area thoroughly at each changing and apply moisturizer daily.

parents.com - How Often Should You Bathe Your Newborn? - Parents

What supplements should not be taken with vitamin D?

Steroids. Taking steroid mediations such as prednisone can reduce calcium absorption and impair your body's processing of vitamin D. Stimulant...

Last updated May 22, 2019

How many times a man should poop?

There is no generally accepted number of times a person should poop. As a broad rule, pooping anywhere from three times a day to three times a week...

Last updated Oct 30, 2022

Promotion

Can two brown-eyed parents have a child with colored eyes?

Yes. The short answer is that brown-eyed parents can have kids with brown, blue or virtually any other color eyes. Eye color is very complicated...

Last updated Jul 3, 2019

Promotion

Is there stage 6 prostate cancer?

Gleason 6 is the lowest grade possible. This rating means that the prostate cancer is considered to be low- or very low-risk disease, or group 1. 1...

Last updated May 23, 2019