My first and last were bathed every day in the tub at home.  Parent gets in
tub, sits with knees drawn up at a comfortable angle, baby placed on "lap",
umbilical stump fully submerged, mother's "crotchal region" (as we call it
in our family) fully submerged, baby washed with Johnson's baby soap or
Ivory or something similar.  No chance of burning the baby because mother
or father is already in the water.  No problems with umbilical cords
healing nicely and coming off cleanly.  Middle child had a gastrostomy
tube, so he was just sponge bathed.

Most babies in the US are bathed at first in a plastic tub with a reclining
back, with most of their body wet but not submerged (therefore babies get
COLD), and water dribbled over them with the parent's hand or poured from a
cup, and gently washed with a washcloth.

Newborns in our local hospital may or may not always get that "under the
full-force water" scrubbing with a nail brush.  I only saw it one time.
Have no idea if it is routine.


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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email:
[log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352
http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/dettwyler.html

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