There are important details you should pay attention to when cleaning your baby’s bottom. It is important that you know these and also teach them to those who help you in your baby’s care. Especially with baby girls, care should be taken during cleaning the bottom not to press strongly while cleaning the genital area from front to back, to avoid any stimulation.
In the first days following the birth, the digestive organs of babies are not fully developed yet, while sucking they pass stool with gas in a noisy manner, which is a highly noisy soiling process. Even if the stool excreted may be a lot from time to time, it is usually little but frequent. Whereas in the following days, as absorption in the intestines increases and digestive organs develop, the frequency of soiling decreases. In fact it is normal for them to sometimes pass stools 2 to 3 times a day, or even pass stools only once per week. This is due to the fact that absorption of the mother’s milk is very high and there is not much stool left to pass. This situation may continue until transition is made to supplementary foods and this is nothing to worry about. The baby should never be stimulated through the rectum (such as lubricated strip, tip of the thermometer) to force the passing of a stool. Such an intervention interrupts the learning process of the baby to pass stools, to strengthen her abdominal muscles and to succeed in relaxing her anus. He/she will not be able to pass a stool without intervention. At this stage massage should be given to your baby’s stomach and pushing the legs to the belly exercises should be performed.
In baby boys, cleaning should be commenced first from the cleanest area, which is the groin, then the genital organ should be wiped from top to bottom by using a new piece of cotton each time. Following this, the curly skin of scrotum and then the anal area should be cleaned gently.
Whereas in baby girls, the process is initiated from the cleanest area, which is the groin, and while the genital area is cleaned from top to bottom, no pressure should be applied. Stimulation of the clitoris in baby girls may lead her to discover the desire to feel pleasure at an early age and she will try to repeat this pleasure which may lead to experience anxiety. Of course, she will have such experiences during the anal stage. This is because this is the stage when she becomes aware of her gender identity and learns to control the muscles surrounding her genital organs and feels pleasure in this area. However, her noticing this too early is related to wiping the vulva while applying a lot of pressure during diaper cleaning.
After 1-2 months, when the mother can easily hold her baby, the frequency of soiling will decrease but the amount of stools will increase. The best thing to do then is to wash with a lot of soap and water, but don’t use shampoo.
After completing the bottom cleaning of your newborn, it is important that you place the diaper under her and use rash cream a few times a day and use Molfix Newborn Umbilical Cord Notch Diaper to ensure that her umbilical cord is left out in the open and quickly dries up and falls in a manner that does not cause any infections.
Label: Cleaning, Cleaning your baby, Diaper/putting on a diaper, Hygiene
Email: customercare@hayat.ng
Customer care line: +234 809 991 0970
Toll Free line: 0800-CALLHAYAT