Cleaning Baby Skin
Your baby will enter the world covered with traces of a white, cream-cheesy substance called vernix, which protected her skin from the long exposure to the water of the amniotic fluid. Soon she will have her first bath. And during diaper changes, your newborn’s bottom will be cleaned again and again.
Although you certainly do want your infant to be clean, you don’t want her skin to be covered with cleansers and lotions in those first few hours and days. For the first week of life, I do not recommend using any soap, lotion, shampoo, or diaper ointments unless necessary. Simple water is usually quite effective in cleaning up your infant’s sensitive skin.
If you are giving birth at home, your mid-wife and doula will follow your instructions to use only water to gently bathe and clean your baby. If you give birth at a hospital, you might want to ask about what cleansers, shampoos, lotions, and ointments are used on babies, and what options are available. If shampoos and cleansers are required, you might ask if you can supply your own products for your baby.
Feeding Baby a First Meal
What your baby will eat during his first days is a decision you must make before you deliver your baby. If you choose to breastfeed, this choice should be recorded in your birth plan and clearly understood by your support team. If you prefer to feed your baby infant formula, this too must be determined in advance—especially if you want to use a particular kind of formula right from the start.
Breastfeeding
Many new mothers state clearly in their birth plans that they want to breastfeed their newborn immediately after his delivery. This is a well-intentioned request because we have good data that show that if a baby breastfeeds before being taken from the mother to be bathed after his birth, the mother has a much higher chance of successfully breastfeeding that baby.
But an even more natural way to begin the breastfeeding process is to give the newborn time to seek out his first meal by himself. Ask someone to place your newborn on your stomach before he is bathed or evaluated. Cuddle, make eye contact, and then watch what the baby will do instinctively. He will first begin to act hungry by smacking his lips. He will then start pushing his feet against your body to work his way up to the breast. (I believe this is why babies are born with the stepping reflex that causes them to move their feet and legs as if they are trying to walk when something is pushed against their feet.)
He will navigate his way to your breast by following the scent of the amniotic fluid. (The breasts secrete an oily substance containing some of the same ingredients.) He will suck on his fists, get the scent of the fluid that is still on his skin, and then head up toward the breast by pushing, stretching, and inching his way along.
When he makes this journey to the breast by himself, the latch-on is much more likely to be a healthy one in which he gets the whole nipple and areola. The breastfeeding is then far easier for both baby and mom and makes it more likely that the breastfeeding attempt will be successful.
Unfortunately, if the baby’s hands have already been washed, or if your breasts have been overly cleansed, the baby won’t be able to make the journey. That’s why it’s important to plan for this little bit of exercise in your birth plan.
This first supper is an Olympic achievement for both of you. And for most healthy babies, it’s a good reason to delay washing, eye ointment, weighing, measuring, shots, or procedures for the first hour.
Lactation Consultants
Although very natural and green, breastfeeding isn’t necessarily easy.
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