Ideally, even grandparents “should not be kissing on the baby for at least the first few months,” Tan told me. Within a home, siblings attending day care and school—where it's easy to pick up germs—might also want to sheathe their smackeroos at first.
He suggests parents wait to start bringing their newborns out into the world and around more people until after they have received their first round of immunizations, typically around 2 months of age.
Sweet and squishy baby cheeks are hard to resist kissing, but doing so can cause serious health consequences. In order to prevent serious health issues, anyone and everyone, including parents, should avoid kissing babies.
First, wash the kissed area immediately with soap and water. There's no guarantee this will prevent infection, but it doesn't hurt to clean the area of contact, just in case. Next, monitor the baby closely for unusual behavior or symptoms. Call your doctor for professional advice as well.
Also, their lungs are much smaller so any inflammation to their airways is exponentially worse when the baby is smaller. RSV is spread through contact with contaminated respiratory droplets. Kissing, sharing drinks, or transferring things from mouth to mouth can transmit RSV.
Explicitly say “Please, don't kiss my baby”
If your visitors are tested and vaccinated, you can offer feet kisses and masked snuggles, but be explicit about not wanting people's faces in the vicinity of your little one.
It is not wrong to kiss your baby but you should be wary of the risks involved not only for caution, but also so that you can advise visitors accordingly. Rule number 1 when it comes to kissing the baby is to never kiss a baby near its mouth. The risk of passing on germs and diseases increases by doing that.
Babies are born with weak immune systems which they build up as they grow, which means that they cannot fight off germs up until a certain age,” she explains. “People should not be kissing children, especially adults, because we don't know where their mouths have been,” she says.
Parents should try to limit the number of visitors their babies come in close contact with overall. Consider having extended family and friends wait two to three months until your baby's immune system is stronger to plan their visits.
But there's no evidence to suggest that you should stop kissing your baby or stop friends and family from kissing her. Put simply, your baby will not be at an increased risk of SIDS from a kiss. What may increase the risk of SIDS however, is how your baby's immune system responds to infections.
Yes. You can kiss a newborn on the head, and the cases of any infection caused by a kiss are rare. However, staying away from the baby is better if you have a cold, cough, or any contagious disease or infection.
Kissing someone else's baby exposes them to so much more than germs (though I will address that, too). During a baby's first year, but especially in the first three months of life, they are especially vulnerable to germs as their immune system is essentially non-existent yet.
Be Firm and Direct. “I prefer people to ask before touching her.” This clearly lets someone know that you must give permission. “Let me be straightforward: we're not letting anyone touch our baby right now.”
Science says maternal biology drives mothers to kiss their babies as a way to protect their new immune system! Parents often describe themselves as “totally smitten” with their new little one.
The lip-restraining guidance is most pertinent to people outside an infant's household, experts told me, which can include extended family. Ideally, even grandparents “should not be kissing on the baby for at least the first few months,” Tan told me.
But now she's beginning to express love, affection and humour. Your baby may show her feelings for you by raising her arms when she wants to be picked up, and crying when you leave the room . She may also be able to give you hugs and kisses now. And she's beginning to get the joke.
KISS stands for Kinetic Imbalances due to Suboccipital Strain, in other words, disorders in the symmetrical development of the baby that arise as a result of vertebrae disorders. The early signs of a blockage in the vertebra are highly varied. Many, though not all, babies cry a lot, sleep badly and are easily startled.
It Boosts Their Immune System
This will make sense very shortly. As a mother kisses her baby, she will consume the harmful pathogens (AKA bacteria) that have been sitting on the baby's skin, ready to make its way into the baby's mouth.
Most of the time, it's totally fine to kiss your baby on the lips—unless you're dealing with a few very specific health issues, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The big concern, they say, is the herpes simplex virus (HSV).
There are no set rules about how long to wait before taking a newborn out into the world or when to let people near the baby. Some doctors recommend that parents wait until their baby is a few months old before going to crowded public places (like malls, movie theaters, and airplanes).
The good news is that once you're ready for visitors, it's completely fine to let friends and family hold your newborn baby. To be on the safe side, ask them to wash their hands before they hold your baby. This is so they don't pass on any germs.
While six weeks has long been the traditional timeline for rest and recuperation after a birth, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends ongoing postpartum care from birth to 12 weeks. Six weeks is also the standard recovery time allotted for childbirth-related short-term disability leave.