> Subject: Bathing newborns
> Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 13:17:32 +0800
> From: Joy Anderson <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Someone asked a few days ago about routine recommendations concerning
> bathing newborns and cord care in other countries than USA. I think this is
> relevant to breastfeeding issues because of the potential usefulness of
> remedial co-bathing for non-latching babies.
>
> I thought someone working in a hospital in Australia may comment. Since I
> haven't seen one so far, I thought I would just say that, as far as I know,
> there have never been restrictions about water and bathing of newborns in
> Australia. When my babies were born (14 and 11 now), mothers were shown
> bathing technique by hospital staff from the first day or two. I always
> thought it was a bit odd, making a big deal about showing a mother exactly
> how to bath a baby, and relatively little about how to breastfeed. But
> then, I suppose, the nurses were so expert in bathing babies and maybe not
> so expert in breastfeeding. Getting the cord stump wet was not a concern at
> all.
>
> I also don't recall any concerns about mothers having baths, although I
> normally just had showers and I only had an episiotomy to worry about (no
> caesar wound). Anyone else in Australia heard of the restrictions that seem
> to be recommended in the US?

I don't work in a hospital but I have had three babies in an Austalian hospital,
the latest being 20 weeks and 5 days ago.  I was told not to do anything about
the cord, just wash the baby normally in a bath and the cord would eventually
dry up by itself and fall off.  Each baby had their first bath just hours after
they were born and it was a nice deep one so they could float in it tummy down,
my husband gave the bath with the midwife watching and offering advice.  In each
case the cord stump came off within a week.  Each postnatal room had a baby bath
and I was offered help with bathing the baby but no one told me not to immerse
the cord.  I have had three episiotomies but the only thing I was told was to
keep it clean and dry.  The emphasis was more on drying it after a bath/shower
than on whether or not I could have a bath, in fact while in hospital I had
several sitz baths - lovely.  In Australia a deeper than normal bath is
recommended for the baby so that they can be held under their chin and float on
their tummies, they are so relaxed they often fall asleep and it is very easy to
wash them.  My three all loved it, I dreaded having to take them out because I
knew that they would protest - loudly.

Gitte in Adelaide - we had bright sunshine and 107F
--
BN Carney  @>-->-
<[log in to unmask]>

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"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do
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