Until now, the habit of immediately bathing the newborn seems to remain valid hereditarily in the world of midwifery, especially among traditional birth attendants.
Bathing a newborn seems to be a permanent procedure because the baby is considered dirty of being covered in blood, mucus, meconium, and amniotic fluid, moreover if the baby's skin is also covered with white fat, vernix caseosa, looked disgusting, so it'd be cleaned with a cotton swab that's been given the original oil from coconut.
Similar demands, sometimes, also come from the family. Muslim parents, for example, would want immediately to call to prayer in the baby's ear before hearing the other words. For that, the baby must be clean of diverse dirt, a kind of ritual ablution.
It could be concluded, efforts for bathing newborn have become a tradition. So, why's it questioned?
Newborn is actually not appropriate when washed immediately with warm water though. You see, it couldn't adjust to circumstances outside the mother's womb. Then, suddenly, the body is wet with water. The cold will take the heat from the body. As a result, the body temperature is down quickly.
If the newborn is suffered a loss of body temperature, blood that flows to carry oxygen throughout the body is reduced. As a result, skin, hands, feet, and face are blue. Due to lack of oxygen, the baby's body cells can be damaged, especially in brain regions known to be very sensitive.
You can imagine what happens to the baby in the future if the brain cells are damaged.
Immediately after birth, baby wet with blood, mucus, meconium, and amniotic fluid should simply be dried using a smoothly and cleanly dry towel so it's not cold while touched like soft massage. In order not to lose the body temperature, keep warm by hugging on the mother's breasts and giving milk before the first thirty minutes after birth.
Try also not to put the baby near or over cold objects. At the time of weighing should the baby be wrapped with a dry cloth. To get the objective weight numbers, subtract it with cloth wrapper. Avoid also the room with wind blowing or air conditioner.
Bathe your baby at least six hours after birth, or until the body temperature is stable. For the baby born with low weight, of course, the treatment should be more careful.
As the baby's parents, you're expected to understand this baby shower delay. Therefore, labor is called a success if the mother and baby are survived, not only at the time of delivery but also the future. Therefore, the impact of mistreatment in labor should be minimized.
You may also like:
The Baby Owner's Manual
Not Your Ordinary Parenting Book
The No-Cry Sleep Solution
On Becoming Baby Wise
I'm Not Fat, I'm Pregnant!
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