Dr. Komarovsky about bathing a newborn

Bathing for a newborn child and his parents is the whole event (especially if it is the first after the maternity hospital). Like any very responsible business, this process raises many questions: how and when to bathe, boil water or not, whether you can add decoctions of herbs and how often to do it, is it dangerous to get water in your ears, and so on. The famous pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky in his books and articles repeatedly told about the basic rules and principles of organizing water procedures for an infant.

Water treatments are absolutely useful for all babies from the very first days of life. In the womb, crumbs are in the aquatic environment, and therefore it is familiar and dear to them. In the water the toddler feels at home. Bathing is not only a hygienic procedure aimed at ensuring that the skin and hair of a child are clean. Bathing promotes physical development, bears an element of the game, and therefore has a positive effect on the mental and emotional development of the baby.

Modern doctors look at bathing more democratic.

Parents with experience, as a rule, have much less difficulties in the first bathing of a newborn at home than in newly-made moms and dads, who just a few hours ago got their hands on their first child. Komarovsky advises to maintain Spartan calm. That it is a guarantee of success in the difficult task of bathing the crumbs.

The baby should have everything you need for a pleasant swim. Mom and dad need to take care of this in advance. Even during pregnancy, parents usually acquire the necessary equipment. Do not throw money away and buy a lot of excess - for example, several sets of rubber toys for playing in the water. The most necessary, according to Komarovsky, is:

1. Bath. Even if you really want to immediately start practicing bathing in a large bath or joint water procedures, Evgeny Olegovich advises to buy an ordinary small baby plastic bath and use the first 2-3 months of a child’s life. There are several reasons: in a small space, the child is more comfortable, it is easier to fill the small bath with warm water, even if there is no hot water supply, and it is easier to clean and keep it clean than a large bath, which is used not only by the baby, but by the whole family.
2. Water thermometer. At first, parents will need it in order not to be mistaken with the temperature of the water that is optimal for the water procedures of the newborn. A little later, mom and dad will understand what kind of water the child likes more and will be able to do without this device. However, the thermometer can come in handy later if parents decide to harden the child, and Komarovsky strongly recommends doing this to everyone without exception. Now there are toy thermometers (plastic giraffes, snakes and other characters) on sale.They can be great fun for a child when he starts to play consciously during the evening bathing.
3. Soap. Buy should be a special baby soap. However, Komarovsky does not recommend using it often. The doctor believes that it is quite enough to bathe the child with soap 1-2 times a week. It is not necessary to buy sponges and scourers, since the baby’s skin is very tender and vulnerable. Evgeny Olegovich considers the best option to lather his own hand and easily wipe the skin of the child. If you really want to soap it with something, it is better to give preference to special mitts for bathing babies. New-fashioned and advertised means "without tears" will come time to appear on the shelf of the bathroom a little later. In the first couple of months of life, such gels and shampoos are not needed for a child.
4. Towel. The child should have his own towel. A baby's towel or terry bath towel is not suitable for a baby. You need to choose a very soft, large-sized product so that the crumbs can be wrapped from head to toe. Komarovsky draws attention to textile dyes, which can be quite allergenic for baby's delicate skin. It is better to give preference to white or light towels made from natural fabrics (no dyes at all).
5. Slide or hammock. This is a convenient device for swimming in the absence of an extra pair of hands. If there is no help and it is not foreseen, it will not be difficult to buy out the baby with the help of a plastic slide or a hanging hammock, which is mounted on the edges of the baby bath.

This question arises quite often. Some pediatricians allow bathing even with a pin on the navel, others recommend to refrain from taking water procedures until the umbilical cord dries. Yevgeny Komarovsky says that the choice, of course, for their parents. However, if the child is kept in acceptable living conditions, does not sweat, does not overheat, does not get dirty, then nothing bad will happen to him if the baby does not bathe for a week or two. It does not bother him. If anyone is worried, then only mom and dad, but in this case there are wet baby sanitary napkins, which at any time you can wipe problem areas and folds.

For a long time, the doctors advised swimming in water with a solution of potassium permanganate. However, here you need to be extremely careful, undissolved particles of potassium permanganate can cause serious burns on the delicate skin and mucous membranes of infants. The solution should be pale pink, and it should be added to the water just before bathing. Komarovsky potassium permanganate does not recommend it at all, since it is useless in small doses and dangerous in large doses. Replace it better infusion series.

Massage before evening bathing is a very useful and important procedure, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. During stroking and patting the blood supply to the muscles and skin is improved, and the benefits will be even more tangible if you bathe the baby immediately after the manipulations. To master a simple massage under the power of all, without exception, parents. You do not need to sign up for special courses.

Massage in front of the bathroom Komarovsky recommends making it light and soothing. First, with a baby cream, mother can easily massage her hands (with strokes and circular movements, this should be done with the thumbs). Then the legs are massaged in the same way. Stroke the tummy with the palm or fingertips in a clockwise direction. Then crumbs spread on the tummy and gently massaged the back - first with circular and arcuate movements, and then light pats.

Doctors recommend keeping the temperature at 37 degrees. It should be followed at least the first 10-14 days. Then you can experiment - slightly raising or lowering the temperature (maximum - by 1 degree).

Some parents try to warm up the bathroom in advance, carrying heaters into it (especially in cases where the first bathing of the house occurs in the winter). Komarovsky does not advise doing this. The temperature in the bathroom should be about the same as in the rest of the apartment (the optimal values ​​are 18-20 degrees), and it is harmful to overheat the air in the bathing room.

Such procedures will not cause any harm, but the general strengthening effect will be evident, and it is more difficult for a child to fall asleep while bathing in a cool bath. However, do not immediately rush to comply with this recommendation. This should begin gradually. The initial water temperature for a newborn is 34 degrees. In a month, a child can reduce it by 2 degrees - up to 32 degrees, and increase the bathing time from 15 minutes to half an hour. In two months the temperature of cool water can be lowered to 28-30 degrees, the bathing time is half an hour.

Komarovsky advises taking these figures rather arbitrarily. If a child at 1 month calmly perceives bathing in water, whose temperature is 24 degrees, there is nothing wrong with that. He sleeps soundly, rests well, worries himself less and gives his parents sleep.

The first bathing should not be done very long. It is better to start from 3 minutes, the next day to extend the procedure to 5 minutes, then add a little more time. Komarovsky considers 15-20 minutes to be the best bathing duration. If a quarter of an hour has passed, and the baby is calm and determined to continue the procedure, nothing terrible will happen if bathing is extended.

Although Komarovsky strongly advises to wash the crumbs every day. When a baby starts crawling, getting dirty, actively exploring the world, water procedures before bed should become regular and mandatory - you will have to bathe your baby daily.

Komarovsky thinks that evening bathing is not a dogma. Parents themselves have the right to choose the most convenient bathing time for the family. Some evening hygiene procedures are carried out at lunchtime. However, Komarovsky warns that evening bathing has its advantages - for example, it promotes relaxation for a good and healthy night’s sleep.

No matter what the traditional healers say, any use of phytotherapeutic agents in bathing is better to coordinate with the treating pediatrician. Grannies, of course, would be advised to bathe the granddaughter more often in a line or be sure to brew nine-force to him, but the common sense of the parents should be above all. If the child suffers from atopic dermatitis, he has diaper rash, a tendency (genetic) to allergies, be sure to consult a doctor.

For healthy children, bathing with the addition of medicinal herbs decoctions is quite a useful procedure, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. However, in all the measure is good, it is not necessary to prepare herbal baths daily, and with the dosage of decoctions and infusions should be more careful.

Naturally, to treat something with the help of herbal decoctions, water added, will not work, because it is impossible, says Dr. Komarovsky. But much harm with moderate dosing does not happen.

Such situations are encountered, says Komarovsky. But the point here is not at all in the child, and not even in the fact that he is afraid of something. Most likely, according to the famous pediatrician, you should adjust the conditions of bathing. Maybe the water temperature does not suit the crumb - it is too high or too low for him.After experimenting for several days, parents will be able to understand which water is most comfortable for the children. Bathing should begin with it - and only then adjust the temperature in favor of cooling (adding a thin stream of cold water) or heating (adding a similarly hot).

For example, the mother tries to bathe the baby only for the night, and it is at this time that the child wants to sleep, not to bathe. Therefore, Komarovsky gives some tips that will help parents whose children are scandalous in the water:

Change the time of day.

Change the order of food and swimming. If the baby cries when bathing half an hour after a meal, then try bathing him half an hour before eating (or vice versa).

Practice swimming with your child.

This can be done in 2-3 months, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. At first, the child can be absorbed in a large water space with a circle around his neck. This is a special inflatable device with a notch for the chin and velcro on the back of the neck. The kid is fixed in such a circle, his head is always above the water, and he can practice swimming on his back, abdomen, independently turning over in the water. Usually this picture leads the crumbs of the parents in indescribable delight.

You can bathe without a circle. For this, Evgeny Komarovsky advises three poses:

The baby is immersed in the water entirely, only the little face remains on the surface. At the same time it is supported by the index fingers under the neck. There is nothing dangerous about water getting into ears and eyes, says the doctor. The main thing is that the water does not fall into the nose and mouth. Even if the baby eats it a little bit, nothing terrible will happen either.

In this position, the baby can roll from the side to the side.

Kid put. Komarovsky argues that sitting in the water is great even for newborns.

Evgeny Olegovich believes that the baby can even be taught to swim in a large bath. A newborn can quite successfully dive. At the same time, he cannot choke, since he reflexively “closes” the airways. If the parents did not practice diving from birth, then by the age of 2-3 months this innate skill of the baby dies away. If swimming does not work, you should not despair. Everything will come in due time.

Yevgeny Komarovsky does not recommend intensively wipe the child with a towel. It is better to blot the skin of a baby, and then - to carry out a careful visual examination of the body for diaper rash.

If everything is fine with the skin of the crumbs, then Komarovsky does not recommend the use of creams, oils and other means. If there are problems, the principle is simple: “Wet dry, dry dry.”

During the acute period of the disease it is better not to bathe the child. However, if the disease is mild or is already in the process of recovery, Komarovsky advises bathing the child in a familiar rhythm, perhaps making the water a couple degrees warmer.

About how to bathe the newborn, in the next video will tell Dr. Komarovsky.