How to Bathe a New-Born Baby

bathe baby
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 Most parents bathe their babies everyday and mostly bathe times are at the same time everyday.
This needs not be so, but babies do need regular topping and tailing to keep their skin fresh and to avoid nappy rash and soreness in the skin creases. But when you do bathe your baby, always remember safety! Never leave him on a high place from which he could tumble.  And never leave him alone when he is in the bath water. Before you start, place everything you need for the baby's bath and dressing within easy reach so that you will not have to turn your back to find a towel or pin.

An ordinary, small plastic bowl or a plastic tub placed on the kitchen table allows you to bathe the baby while you are standing. This position is more comfortable and safer than bending over a full-sized bath.

You may line the tub with a nappy or a rubber mat to keep the baby from sliding around. Use a small amount of water until you become used to handling the baby. The water should be about body temperature, or 37 degrees Celsius,  which will seem neither hot nor cold when you test it on your wrist or inner elbow. (It is a good rule to put the cold water in first and then add the hot). With one hand under the baby's head, and the other either under his buttocks or his legs, lower him into the bath. Let him sit in the bath, leaning back a little. Support his head by holding your arms behind his neck and gripping his arm under his armpit. Wash his face first, without soap. Then with soap, wash his scalp an the rest of his body. When you have finished,  lay him on a towel and dry him by pathing rather than by rubbing.

At each bath, wash the scalp with a mild soap, then comb it with a fine-tooth comb. This help prevents cradle crap (a crust that forms on on the baby's scalp).


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When bathing a baby girl, occasionally clean between the folds of the labia where a cheesy substance accumulates. Use baby oil, not soap, for this purpose. With boys, wash the genitals gently, and never forcibly draw the foreskin back. It isn't necessary to do so even for hygiene reasons. A newly born boy's foreskin cannot be drawn back, and will often not do so, until the age of four or five and then sometimes only partly. It is safe to use the same amount of force that a normal adult would use to retract his foreskin. If, in our circumstances, no comparison is available, ask your physician to advice you.

Clarisse Tam

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