One mom has shared on TikTok that she won’t bathe her newborn baby until at least a month after his birth.
Although it might seem a little gross, you might be surprised that this is actually pretty beneficial to your baby.
Shahnta Hoare has revealed that she won’t be giving her newborn son, Ozzy, a bath any time soon, and did the same for her other sons, except for her eldest.
She shared that she also didn’t allow the midwives to wipe away the Vernix caseosa — the milky white substance — off of her baby, instead letting it sink into his skin.
This is meant to help keep babies’ skin protected for the first few days after they’re born.
Shahnta explained in her viral TikTok video: “So we actually don’t give baths for like the first month.
“Jaxon [Shahnta’s eldest] had his first bath in the hospital as I didn’t advocate for myself.
“Unfortunately, the twins and Jaxon got wiped off but Ozzy did not get wiped of anything.
“What [he was born with] stayed on him until it naturally came off.”
She continued: “I know it might be gross to some, but when it’s your own baby, you’re like ‘this stuff is so good!’ He won’t get his first bath for many more weeks.”
And it seems even the British NHS recommends Vernix, “should always be left on the skin,” as it is “a natural moisturizer” that “protects against infection.”
They also recommend you only bathe your baby in plain water, with no soaps, and not to use wipes on their skin in the first month.
Some were left shocked by her comments, with one replying: “I couldn’t imagine anything worse…” Another added: “A month! Ain’t no way.”
However, some agreed with what she said, a third wrote: “The smell is insane. I was addicted to it. Didn’t bathe my babies until they were all a month old.”
“I’m a student midwife and what you are saying is what we do and recommend,” a fourth said. “Even the gunkiest babies look super clean by like 2 hours postpartum!”
What do you think?