Sometimes your baby might have a thick milky discharge – this doesn't need to be cleaned away. If you're unsure about any other discharge, see your GP or child and family health nurse. It's common for newborn baby girls to have bloody vaginal discharge in the first few weeks after birth.
These discharges are due to the decreasing levels of maternal hormones in the baby's blood. The vagina may be cleaned gently with clear water. Gently separate the outer lips and wipe them with a soft cloth or the tip of a wash cloth. Do not use a Q-Tip.
With clean fingers, gently separate your baby's vaginal lips. Use a moist cotton pad, a clean, dampened cloth, or a fragrance-free baby wipe to clean the area from front to back, down the middle. Clean each side within her labia with a fresh damp cloth, moist cotton pad, or fragrance-free baby wipe.
It can start any time from 2-10 days of life. This is normal and called false menses. The cause is the sudden drop-off in the mother's estrogen (a hormone) after birth. The blood-tinged or pink discharge should not last more than 3 or 4 days.
Always wipe from the front to the back
Wiping from the back to the front can mean bacteria finds its way from the bottom into the vagina or urethra, leading to possible infection.
Do you need to wipe a baby girl after peeing? No. Even with a baby girl, you don't need to worry about wiping after they pee. This is because urine doesn't normally irritate the skin and most nappies easily absorb it anyway .
After a day or so, the vernix often starts to get a little smelly and you will want to do a little soapy sponge bath to clean off any bacteria starting to collect on your little baby's delicate skin.
Wipe away extra mucus with a soft cloth or a tissue. Use a sterilized rubber bulb to gently suction out extra mucus (more on this below). Use a saline spray to help loosen dried snot and clear it out of the nostrils. Use a cool-mist humidifier in baby's room to keep the air moist.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends waiting at least 6 hours before bathing the newborn baby and ideally waiting about 24 hours. The WHO also recommends not wiping off the vernix at birth.
In short, yes! If it helps you feel more clean and fresh, that is certainly okay. There are also wipes made for women, sometimes referred to as feminine hygiene wipes but there's nothing wrong with using baby wipes. If they are safe and gentle enough for a baby, they should be fine for a teenager or woman.
Keeping baby's skin dry and cleaning baby's skin at every diaper change (even when changing a urine-only diaper) can help maintain skin health.
Vernix coating on the neonatal skin protects the newborn skin and facilitates extra-uterine adaptation of skin in the first postnatal week if not washed away after birth.
This protective barrier develops on a newborn shortly after birth, and helps prevent infections from bad bacteria. The vernix is thought to facilitate proper development of the acid mantle, and baby's skin pH regulates more quickly when it isn't removed.
The amount of vernix caseosa on your baby's skin decreases the closer you get to your due date. It's normal for full-term babies to have the substance on their skin. But if you deliver past your due date, your baby may have less of the coating. Premature babies tend to have more vernix caseosa than full-term babies.
Pulmonary congestion is present in 89% of SIDS cases (p < 0.001 compared with non-SIDS deaths), and pulmonary edema in 63% (p < 0.01).
Newborn girls will often still have vernix (the white sticky coating on the skin) still in the vulva between the labia. Do not try to scrub this coating out; it will gradually dry up and come off when you wipe with diaper changes. Newborn girls may have a slight vaginal discharge, which may be tinged with blood.
Should I wipe my baby after every diaper change? Not every diaper change may require a wipe. If your baby has only urinated, then you can probably skip wiping to avoid unnecessary irritation. However, always wipe after every poopy diaper, and always wipe front to back to help prevent the spread of bacteria.
Babies need frequent nappy changes. Babies have very delicate skin so their nappy needs to be changed as soon as they wet or poo themselves, otherwise their skin becomes sore and red. Changing your baby's nappy as soon as possible after they've done a wee or poo will help prevent nappy rash.
By waiting to give the newborn the first bath, studies show the newborn is better able to stabilize his or her blood sugar and temperature.
Never fill a bath with hot water first. Your child could put their hand or foot in the water and be scalded. Swirl the water in the bath so there are no hot and cold spots. If you have a mixer tap, run the hot and cold water together.
If skin-to-skin contact with your newborn happens before the baby's even cleaned off, there's evidence that he'll be less prone to infection because he has more time in contact with the beneficial bacteria you transmit to him during a vaginal birth.
After the birth of your baby, the umbilical cord needs to be clamped and cut. This can happen straight after birth, or you might be able to cuddle your baby for a minute or two before the cord is cut. Your birth partner can usually cut the umbilical cord if that's what you and your partner want.
Wiping your baby after pee is not necessary unless you want to freshen up your baby's bottom after a soaking wet diaper, and not doing it might in fact save your baby's skin from getting irritated from excessive wiping.
Use a cotton pad, wipe, etc., soaked with lukewarm water (approx. 38-40℃) just to remove poo and pee, and do not put on a new diaper before baby's skin is completely dry.
Leave Wet Diapers Alone
Again, you can leave a wet diaper alone during the night, waiting until morning to change it — unless your baby's diaper is soaked through to their pajamas.