It’s unsafe to bathe your baby before it’s 24 hours old –Study

Immediately a new baby is born and once the doctors are satisfied that the baby is fine, the next step is to bathe the baby before handing him/her to the mother to hold for the first time.

However, researchers are saying that there is an important substance — vernix — that covers your baby’s body at birth; and that bathing the baby less than 24 hours after delivery actually deprives that baby of an important health benefit.

Vernix caseosa, also known as vernix, is the waxy or cheese-like white substance found coating the skin of newborn human babies.

It is believed to have some protective roles during foetal development as well as for a few hours after birth.

Indeed, reports say that a Chicago-based nurse is convinced that new mums and dads should wait between eight and 24 hours to bathe their newborn so the baby can reap all the benefits that vernix provides.

For instance, researchers say that leaving the vernix on the baby for about 24 hours after birth protects against hypothermia — a medical condition in which the body temperature is much lower than normal.

It is also thought to protect against hypoglycaemia — the condition of having too low a level of blood sugar.

A nurse at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois, USA, Courtney Buss, headed the research and medical world is fast considering it.

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