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Post partum

Bathing & massaging your baby

Bathing is a special time to be with your baby and enjoy each other. It is relaxing for your baby and may help promote sleep. Bathe your baby as needed, but remember that soaps and lotions often are drying to a baby’s sensitive skin.

Here are some basic tips to keep in mind:

Never leave your baby alone in a tub. An infant can drown in less than an inch of water
Be sure to support the head and neck
Keep the room warm to keep the baby from getting chilled
Always test the water to prevent chilling or burning. Water should be warm not hot.
Hold your child firmly as soapy babies are slippery.
Sponge bathe (don’t immerse) your baby until the umbilical cord and, if circumcised. the glans is healed
Avoid using soap on the face
Work from the inner to outer areas, head to toes, front to back.
Wash the outer ear and behind the ear. Do not put anything in the ears to clean them
Avoid talc based powders as they can irritate baby’s breathing passages
Trim nails straight at the level of the skin

Bath time is an ideal time to do infant massage. Massage provides nurturing touch, which is a necessity for physical and psychological well being for children. Research from the University of Miami Medical School in Florida has shown that healthy infants who were massaged 15 minutes a day, twice a week, spent more time in deep sleep, gained more weight, and were less irritable than infants who were rocked for the same amount of time. Massage may also make some colicky infants less fussy and may reduce night waking in babies with sleep problems.