There's lots of evidence about not bathing newbies until at least 6 hours.
Here's what the WHO says in brief:

 

World Heath Org on Protocols immediately after birth

From the World Health Org Handbook  ESS-EMCH SECTION 11 Neonatal Emergencies
Last updated 27/4/2009 215

SECTION 11: Care of The Newborn at Birth: Most babies do not need any
resuscitation at birth. Mouth suction, face mask oxygen, and vigorous
stimulation in order to provoke a first gasp or cry are all pointless
rituals that lack any clinical justification.899

. Even in a baby born covered in meconium there is no evidence that
carefully cleaning

of the nose and mouth reduces the risk of meconium being drawn down into the
lung.

In the few babies where this does happen it almost always occurs before
birth.

 

Preventing heat loss after birth

. As long as the baby becomes pink, and starts to breathe without distress,
most babies must be with their mothers and have a first feed at the breast
within minutes of birth.

. Colostrum is extremely nutritious and all mothers should be informed that
it is ideal for their baby to feed on this as soon after birth as possible.

. Babies very easily get cold immediately after birth, and using water or
oil to clean the skin within six hours of birth before body temperature has
stabilised can make the baby dangerously hypothermic (a problem that may
well be missed if a low reading

thermometer is not used). Nothing is a more effective source of warmth than
the mother's own body as long as the baby is first gently dried to minimize
evaporative heat loss and mother and baby are then both protected from
draughts.

Life (IMEESC 3.2 and Integrated Management of Pregnancy and Childbirth.
Managing Newborn Problems: a guide for doctors, nurses and midwives. WHO
2003 ISBN 92 4 154622 0 ("WHO Newborn")

 

There's the "warm chain" advisory about how to handle the newborn, and the
evidence about the protective qualities of the vernix.  Here's just one
piece   about the warm chain:

Challenges of Minimizing Heat Loss at Birth A Narrative Overview of
Evidence-Based Thermal Care Interventions Emma McCall, MSc, Fiona Alderdice,
PhD, Henry Halliday, MD, FRCPE, FRCP, FRCPCH, Linda Johnston, RN, PhD,
Sunita Vohra, MD, FRCPC, MScNAINR. 2014;14(2):56-63. 

 

 

Best, 

Jackie Levine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

o     <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1595247/> ANTIMICROBIAL
PROPERTIES OF AMNIOTIC FLUID AND VERNIX CASEOSA ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE FOUND
IN BREAST MILK

ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF AMNIOTIC FLUID AND VERNIX CASEOSA ARE SIMILAR TO
THOSE FOUND IN BREAST MILK

*	Akinbi, H. T., Narendran, V., Pass, A. K., Markart, P., & Hoath, S.
B. (2004). Host defense proteins in vernix caseosa and amniotic fluid.
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 191(6), 2090-2096.

 


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