Baby Hygiene Tips: What Every Parent Should Know; Esp New Parents

It is time to watch your hygiene practices if your baby is experiencing health issues, which recur frequently. Unsanitary practices can be a major factor in causing your baby to fall ill.

Since your baby's immune system is weak, they are more susceptible to infections. Most of these infections can be prevented by keeping a careful eye on how you handle your child.

Baby Hygiene: What You Need To Know

It is essential to follow healthy hygiene practices when it comes to a baby's hygiene [1]. This should include all aspects of their day-to-day dealings with each other. It is your responsibility to keep your baby healthy and happy, so consider trying these simple baby hygiene tips.

It is extremely important for you to take proper hygiene precautions if your baby is premature. In this article, we discuss baby hygiene tips and simple parenting advice.

Baby Hygiene Tips For All The New Parents Out There!

1. Washing your hands

Whenever you handle your baby, you must only approach them after washing your hands. When feeding, bathing, or making your baby sleep, do wash your hands every time. You should also wash your hands after changing your baby's diaper. Unseen bacteria or viruses can cause several, sometimes, severe health problems [2].

2. Breast hygiene

The topic of breast hygiene is often overlooked by women; surprising right?. Your body can be exposed to sweat, chemicals from your dress, and deodorants. Before breastfeeding your baby, it is very important to clean your breasts, particularly your nipple area and areola. Taking a bath is either an option or, if it is not possible, using warm wet cloths to clean the area [3].

3. Sterilising bottles

If you are feeding your baby in a bottle, it is very important to sterilise the bottle well. Sterilisation by boiling it in water is the most effective method, killing the majority of harmful germs. Glass bottles are preferred. It is not recommended to boil plastic bottles, unless the manufacturers claim that it is safe [4].

4. Cleaning baby's mouth

It is necessary to clean their mouths, even though they do not have teeth. You can do this by simply wiping their gums and tongue with a soft cloth [5]. This will eliminate the remnants of the previous feeding. It is a very simple method of preventing fungal infections on the tongue. You should also clean the edges of their lips after each feeding.

5. Cutting baby's fingernails

There are three areas to which parents should pay particular attention. (1) Always trim your baby's nails so that they do not scratch themselves and it is best to do this when your baby is asleep. (2) Use baby-sized nail clippers and (3) do not cut the nails too short as this will hurt your baby.

6. Changing diapers

Diapers are of course a blessing for parents. However, if you leave your baby in the same diaper overnight, you are more likely to make them more susceptible to infections such as rashes and urinary tract infections. Make sure you change your baby's diapers frequently, especially after poop [6].

7. Bathing your baby

Taking them for a bath or using a soft, wet cloth is an effective way to clean their body. When cleaning your baby, you should use warm water and mild soap. Allowing sweat to remain on the baby's skin for an extended period can result in fungi. Allowing sweat to remain on the baby's skin for a long period of time can result in fungal infections.

8. Keep baby's toys clean

All babies love putting things in their mouths, and toys are often the nearest thing to their wee lill hands. Your child's toys need to be cleaned regularly with a safe disinfectant [7]. Clean hard plastic toys thoroughly or wash soft toys in the washing machine.

On A Final Note...

Having good and safe hygiene habits is important for all ages, but it is especially crucial for children in diapers or very young children. Keeping children and caregivers healthy by using safe diaper methods and infant feeding practices is essential to preventing germs from spreading.