Newborn and Baby Hygiene, Babycare – Tips You Should Follow

Team AckoFeb 8, 2024

Your baby's hygiene and health go hand in hand. Hygiene plays a very important role in the growth of your baby by keeping your little one healthy.

Basic cleanliness is the strong foundation for maintaining the hygiene of your little one. As your baby is still developing her immune system, she is prone to a lot of infections. Hence, it is very important to maintain your hygiene, your little one’s hygiene and keep the surroundings clean. 

How to sustain your baby's hygiene in the house

Here are some of the basic essentials to maintain your baby’s hygiene:

Sanitize your home and toys

To limit your baby’s exposure to infections, it is very crucial to keep your home clean. You can clean the floors using a disinfectant solution. You need to focus on sanitizing the areas your baby uses. If your baby uses a milk bottle, wash and sterilize it after each use to remove the unwanted germs. If you are preparing baby food in your kitchen, clean the utensils properly with warm water and detergent. Clean the kitchen and bathroom with a good disinfectant. At the same time, toys which your baby uses also needs to be cleaned regularly. Wash the toys and wipe them with a clean tissue paper.  

Visitors

Since, your little one is the newest member of your family, it is very normal that all your family members would be eager to meet the little one and just take her in their arms. As a thumb rule, you need to cautiously and politely request your visitors to wash their hands and legs before they hold your baby. This minimizes the risk of infection passing from them to your little one.  

Maintain self/partner’s hygiene

It is very important that you and your partner wash your hands with a good antibacterial soap while handling your baby or handling any of your baby’s essentials like 

• Before preparing your baby’s feed

• After changing the nappies of your baby

• Picking up/cuddling/soothing your baby

Maintaining your personal hygiene is one of the most important aspects of maintaining the hygiene of your child. This helps in avoiding any infection as you and your partner would be majorly handling your baby.

Maintaining your baby's hygiene 

Some more tips to improve your baby's hygiene  

Bathe your baby regularly

Giving a regular and good bath is very important to keep your baby clean and away from infections. Special care needs to be taken to keep your baby’s face, hands and diaper area clean. 

As your baby is still growing, you would observe that there would many places with skin folds like the neck area, thigh region and the arms. These skin folds of your little one need extra attention. You need to ensure that the skin folds are cleaned regularly and also kept dry by applying a little of baby talcum powder.

Cleaning of eyes

It is very natural for your little one to have a built of mucus around the eyes. This mucus if not cleaned regularly, it becomes hard and very difficult to clean. Hence, cleaning the eyes of your baby regularly is very crucial. Your baby's eyes are very delicate and require utmost care while cleaning. The best way to clean your little one's eyes is to take a clean cotton ball, dip it in clean, warm water and gently clean the eyes. You can start beginning from the inside corner of your little one's eyes and move to the outward corner.   The built of mucus around the eye may be worse after they wake up from nap. So keep a cotton ball and warm water handy, just in case your baby finds it difficult to open the eyes. 

Clean ears

Ears of your baby is a very sensitive part and needs to be cleaned regularly. Ears are not only sensitive, they are also very delicate. Hence, you need to take extra care while cleaning your little one's ears. The main thing which needs to be avoided is trying to clean the internal portion of the ear. Do not ever try to clean your baby's internal part with a cotton swab. This can cause a blockage. The best and only way to clean your little one's ears is to take a damp cotton ball and clean the outer layers of your baby's ears and behind her ears.

Keeping the nose clean

The mucous which develops normally in your baby's nose dries up and gets deposited in the nose. This needs to be cleaned regularly with a damp soft cotton cloth. This needs to done gently and has to done when your baby is in a happy mood.   

Change of diaper

Diaper needs to be changed regularly and this is one of the important aspects of maintaining good hygiene of your baby. Do not wait for the diaper to be full for changing do change diapers every 3-4 hours. After the diaper change, clean the diaper area with a soft cotton cloth or a soft baby wipe. It is very important to give some diaper-free time to your baby to air her skin and prevent diaper rashes.

Trim your baby’s nails

Your baby may keep her hands in her mouth or may suck her fingers, hence it is very important to keep your baby’s fingernails well-trimmed and clean. This helps in avoiding any infection for your little one. Also, if the fingernails are long and sharp, there are high chances of your baby hurting herself by scratching. You can use a baby nail clipper to clip the delicate, soft nails of your little one. The best time to trim your baby’s nails is when she is asleep.

These are few of the baby hygiene habits which can help your little one enjoy good health and immunity.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only, based on industry experience and secondary sources. It is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified expert for health or insurance-related decisions. Content is subject to change, refer to current policy wordings for specific ACKO details.