Interesting to get the baby bathing experiences - keep 'em coming.

> Parents also seem to expect their babies to have that "baby
>bath" scent.

When my first child was born (19 years ago) she was not bathed until day 8
or 9, when she was at home (discharge on day 7-8 in those days). Until that
time she had some dried blood on her scalp - just a little, though it wore
off as the week went on. It was my blood, I suppose, mixed with a bit of
vernix and amniotic fluid and stuff.

Yukky?

No! It was a very powerful smell...I got to really like it.  I can remember
it now. When I finally washed it off, I missed it.

Fresh-washed baby is a lovely smell, too, I know....and it doesn't need a
whole load of gunky soapy stuff on top of it.

Midwives here now counsel mothers not to use soaps or baby bath additives
with their babies, until they're at least a few weeks old. The thinking is
that baby's skin needs to keep its own protective 'surface' and not be
washed off.

Of course, if babies are routinely separated from their mothers, and placed
in a room in an institution where post-operative patients may also be, and
handled by any number of staff,  there might well be infection control
issues, only properly dealt with by bathing and soaping.

But if the baby is kept with his mother.....

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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