In my experience, some babies will begin to smell if not bathed. I used to work in a single room maternity care unit. One night while checking a baby who had been under phototherapy I noted that he was a bit smelly. I asked the mother if he had had a bath and no, he hadn't. He was probably about 3 days old at that point. I am sure that being under the lights contributed to his smell. I am all for delaying bathing but eventually we all would like a bath. I am also quite happy sending babies home without a bath if the parents want this, however, most parents would like have their babies bathed and are quite anxious about bathing their child. It also really nice to have the parents do the bath with you there to provide guidance as needed. Cordelia On May 28, 2009, at 2:22 PM, LACTNET automatic digest system wrote: > On Sat, 23 May 2009 10:00:00 -0700, Cordelia Merritt > <[log in to unmask]>=20= > =20 > That baby is going to need a bath at some point. It should be > delayed un= > til=20 > the parents can take part.=20=20 > > Well, do they really need a bath? Isn't that just a cultural > construct we= > have=20 > about what should happen after a person comes out of another > persons=20 > vagina? Sorry if that sounds vulgar, but really, if you think about > it, w= > ipe the=20 > goop off and move on! > > Jamelle Lyons, IBCLC *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome