Hygiene of a newborn girl: features of care, rules of intimate hygiene

In the first days

During the first time after birth, a light gray or creamy coating - remnants of smegma, the original lubricant.
If there is not a lot of plaque, it will gradually be absorbed into the skin. However, if the plaque is abundant, it is recommended to remove it, since after a day or two the fats it contains oxidize, causing the proliferation of microorganisms and, ultimately, inflammation. This plaque is quite dense, so it needs to be removed delicately, in several steps. It is best to use cotton swabs and warm boiled water for this. The plaque will be removed in pellets and will completely disappear in 2-3 days.

Physiologically transient states

The first month is the most difficult for a newborn; the body needs to adapt to new conditions. This is a big burden: you need to master a new diet, unusual breathing, strange sensations, ambient temperature and much more.

During all this, the baby experiences temporary conditions characterized by various symptoms:

• Jaundice. It usually lasts no more than 10 days and does not require treatment.
• Erythema. Removal of primary lubrication leads to redness and peeling. The leather is treated with oil. Pay special attention to the labia area in girls.
• Sexual crisis. It is characterized by swelling of the mammary glands, plaque and discharge may appear on the labia, it is recommended to wash it with decoctions of chamomile or St. John's wort. All symptoms disappear within a few days. If swelling of the labia occurs, it will last for up to 2 weeks.
• Dysbacteriosis. For the first three days, the baby's stool is dark green. Then the feces lighten and become grainy. After a few days, the color and consistency will return to normal.

Parents need not to be afraid, but on the contrary, to be actively involved in the care of their newborn girl, ask for advice from medical staff, and consult with a doctor.
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How to properly wash a newborn baby girl

The girl needs to be washed every time she changes her diaper, and simple wiping with wet wipes is unacceptable here. You can remove feces with napkins, after which you should definitely rinse the perineum under running water. Mom, of course, needs to wash her hands with soap before doing this. In the first months of life, it is advisable to rinse a girl’s genitals in the direction of the anus, so that feces particles do not enter the vagina and cause inflammation. For the same reasons, it is impossible to wash the girl in the basin after defecation. Older girls are washed as follows: first, they soap and rinse the anal area (from the bottom up, towards the tailbone; a stream of water is directed into the palm), then they wash their hands again and wash the external genitalia without soap (from the perineum to the pubis, without touching the anus ).

Caring for a newborn girl after washing is performed in the following sequence: first, blot the genital area dry with a clean towel, then the labia and the skin around them, the inguinal folds, and only then the anus area. At this age, the skin and mucous membranes are dry and easily wounded, so they must be moisturized with baby cream or sterilized vegetable oil. Never wipe the inside of the labia, as this can disrupt the vaginal microflora and lead to genitourinary infections.

Care after discharge from the hospital

Once at home, the young mother seeks advice, first of all, from new grandmothers. Although not all advice should be heeded - many methods are not only outdated, but also dangerous to health.

• There is no need to boil water. This does not protect the baby's skin from harmful bacteria.
• The baby needs to be washed first, then bathed.
• You cannot add herbal decoctions to the bath - they can dry out the skin. Do this only on the advice of your pediatrician.
• But if the baby has passed a lot, carefully wipe the feces with a damp cloth (without alcohol or antiseptic), and then wash with warm running water, moving from the pubis to the anus. Washing in a basin is prohibited.
• Bath the child daily 1-2 times every 5 days with baby soap, external genitalia and buttocks (perineum) - 1 time a day at night or after bowel movement.
• Carry out washing only with clean hands; no auxiliary devices are needed.
• Do not wipe the skin - only blot it with gentle movements.
• After washing, give your baby’s skin 10-15 minutes to “breathe” the air, and then treat it with baby cream.

Bathing

• You can bathe a newborn girl as soon as the umbilical wound dries. Up to six months, baths should be daily, then you can bathe the baby every other day, and when she reaches a year, even less often, replacing bath procedures with showers.
• You should carefully wash all the folds and spaces between your fingers and toes.
• It is recommended to use soap (not toilet soap, but a special one for children, with a minimum amount of additives!) or baby foam no more than 1-2 times a week, and do not add it to water, but apply it to the skin and wash it off with a shower. Soapy water dries out the vaginal mucosa. There is an opinion that until the moment the child begins to crawl on the floor (i.e., until the moment when he can really get dirty) or until the moment when the baby begins to eat complementary foods (i.e., smearing porridge on his face with his hands or puree) - there is no point in washing it with soap, because the child does not get dirty with anything and is constantly either in the arms of his parents or in a clean crib. And once again disturbing his skin with soap products is not only pointless, but also harmful - the protective layer of the skin is washed off. But, firstly, daily bathing in clean water is still necessary, and secondly, this does not exclude washing the child with soap after he pooped.
• Adding various herbal infusions to the bath is at your discretion. However, it must be borne in mind that almost all of them dry out the already dry skin of babies. At the end of winter and spring in cities, an increased amount of chlorine is added to the central water supply, which greatly dries out the skin of children during daily bathing. In this case, it is recommended to add special softeners to the bathing water, for example, calendula bathing agent (Weleda has this). And after bathing, lubricate the baby’s skin with baby oil.
• A newborn girl should use her own, purely individual, bathing set: towel, washcloth and mitten. By the way, you can wash the baby with a piece of gauze instead of a washcloth, since it can be washed and boiled.
• After bathing, the newborn girl is blotted dry with a clean towel or warm sheet, and the skin folds, if necessary, are treated with baby hygienic oil.

What to bathe a newborn girl in

Bathing water must be pre-boiled and cooled to a temperature of 36-37 degrees. It is necessary to add pre-dissolved potassium permanganate to it, which disinfects the water. After the umbilical cord has healed, you can begin to use pharmaceutical herbs such as chamomile and celandine. To do this, they must first be brewed in a separate container and poured into the bath when the water is prepared. After this, it is necessary to measure the temperature of the water and, making sure that the water corresponds to the child’s body temperature of approximately 36.6-37 degrees, you can begin hygiene procedures.

When lowering your child into the water, you must gradually let the water come into contact with his skin. The procedure should bring pleasure to the baby, so the temperature of the room and water should be comfortable and not much different from that in the room where he will then be transferred for changing.

Baby soap can be used once a week to avoid drying out baby's skin. The head and body can be washed using a special children's terry washcloth or gauze, which should always be kept clean and inaccessible to other family members.

The bathing procedure can take 5-7 minutes so that the child’s body does not overheat and then you can rinse with water of the same temperature or a little cooler. The cool temperature of the water will help accustom the child to hardening, improve his appetite and set him up for sleep.

Using a terry towel specially prepared for this, you need to blot the baby’s skin and begin hygienic procedures for treating the umbilical cord and all folds using special liquid baby Vaseline or baby cream.

Ear care

Contrary to popular belief, sulfur is not dirt, but a means of protecting the body. It has bactericidal properties and protects the ear canal from drying out, dust, wind and water. Therefore, do not be zealous in removing it. The maximum that is allowed is to carefully remove with a cotton wool the wax that is in the visible zone, that is, it has come out of the ear canal into the auricle. Each ear has a separate flagellum. Do not use cotton swabs under any circumstances, do not penetrate the swab into the ear canal - this can lead to the pushing of sulfur deeper and the formation of cerumen plugs.

During bathing, the ears are carefully washed with water. If water gets into them, simply blot your ears with a towel. The main thing is to make sure that there are no drafts in the room.

The skin behind the ears requires special attention. Rinse it during bathing and lubricate it with baby oil, especially if there are crusts. Decoctions of skin-soothing herbs and creams with zinc oxide help with diaper rash.

Regular water treatments

Bathing after maternity hospital is another issue that worries young parents. It is better for a new mother to carry out the first procedures together with her husband, an experienced sister or the baby’s grandmother. It is advisable to purchase in advance a bathtub for bathing babies and a special stand where you can place the child, however, many parents bathe their babies in a home bath that has been previously disinfected (we recommend reading: choosing a stand for bathing newborns).

READ IN DETAIL: baby baths for newborns Bathing time is chosen depending on the mode of mother and baby. It is better to devote minutes to the ritual before going to bed. Bathing relaxes, calms the baby and the night's rest will be more peaceful. There are babies who are invigorated by it - this is also important for a young mother to take into account.

Up to 6 months, bathe the child every day, after six months - once every 2 days or less. During illnesses and vaccinations, the issue of taking baths is discussed with the doctor.

To properly bathe a newborn, it is important to follow these recommendations:

• The duration of bathing is determined by the child's reaction. For the first procedure in life, 5-10 minutes are enough, during which the baby will most likely cry. Gradually, the time spent in the bath can be increased to 40 minutes. From the 3rd month you can use rattles, which will interest the baby and turn bathing into an exciting procedure.
• The baby's immersion in the water should be smooth and calm. You can first wet the legs, tummy, and arms so that she gets used to warm water. You can water from a scoop or shower with low pressure.
• Shampoos and foams for bathing a newborn girl are used once a week. The rest of the time, bathing is carried out without detergents.
• To prevent diaper rash and redness in the area of ​​the butt, elbows, armpits, and labia, it is important to carefully wash each fold.

To read: Viferon suppositories and ointment: instructions for use for newborns, children under one year old and nursing mothers with breastfeeding

INTERESTING: beautiful and modern names for newborn girls

Dr. Komarovsky will tell you more about the rules of bathing babies in the video presented. This pediatrician's advice has helped thousands of mothers establish and maintain proper care for their babies. In this issue, Dr. Komarovsky will tell you how to bathe newborns and give valuable recommendations on personal hygiene.

READ IN DETAIL: How to bathe a newborn baby for the first time?

Nasal care

It is necessary to carefully ensure that snot and crusts do not accumulate in the girl’s nose and that she has the opportunity to breathe fully. Therefore, you need to clean your baby’s nose, if it is filled with crusts, every day. The crusts are pre-softened using sterile vegetable oil. To clean the nose, it is preferable not to use store-bought cotton swabs: those with a limiter will not be able to penetrate to the required depth, and without limiters you risk damaging the baby’s nasal mucosa. Prepare small flagella (“turundas”) from cotton pads and, carefully inserting them into the nostrils, clean out the contents of the nose with gentle rotational movements. It is better not to use children's nasal aspirators, because... with frequent use, you can damage the nasal mucosa and disrupt its microflora. In addition, there is an opinion among experts that the recently noted earlier appearance of adenoids in children, the proliferation of the nasal mucosa, is also a consequence of too zealous care of the nasal mucosa by parents (frequent use of aspirators, nasal sprays, etc.) .

What is needed to care for a newborn girl

Compliance with the rules of hygiene for a newborn girl differs significantly from the hygiene of a boy. This difference is due to the anatomical structure of the body of children of different sexes. Based on gender characteristics, it becomes clear that daily procedures are carried out in different ways and the postpartum period also proceeds differently.

To properly care for the health of a newborn girl, the mother will need the following items:

• cotton swabs, disks;
• liquid Vaseline;
• baby cream;
• brilliant green;
• potassium permanganate;
• hydrogen peroxide;
• baby wipes;
• baby soap;
• children's gas tube;
• body and water thermometers;
• pipettes 2 pcs.;
• enemas No. 2, No. 3;
• medications for abdominal colic (for example, children's "Espumizan" suspension);
• pharmaceutical herbs: chamomile and string;
• orthodontic pacifiers;
• feeding bottles;
• clean towels;
• clean and ironed linen, diapers and all items of clothing (vests, rompers, caps, etc.).

By purchasing these items in advance at a pharmacy or children's store, future parents take care not only of their baby, but also of their peace of mind, because During this crucial period, all these things will definitely be needed.

Nail care

Newborns' nails are very soft, so it is more convenient to start cutting them after the first month, when they harden a little. To do this, it is better to use special children's tweezers or children's nail scissors with rounded ends, pre-treated with alcohol or cologne. The corners of the nails on the hands are rounded, on the toes they are left straight to immediately give them the correct shape, which helps in the future to avoid such an unpleasant problem as ingrown nails. Usually, it is enough for children to cut their nails once every 7-10 days, as they grow. You can do this at any time convenient for you, when the baby is most calm, for example, during sleep or feeding.

Children's palms also need care. Due to the fact that newborns often hold them clenched into fists, dirt accumulates on them and diaper rash occurs. This can be avoided by regularly washing and drying your hands.

Use our recommendations and you will see that caring for a newborn will become an easy and enjoyable task for you.

Article taken from https://www.centr-rebenka.ru/motherhood/caring/uhod-za-novorozhdennoj-devochkoj/

Walking with a newborn girl

The child’s adaptation period after the maternity hospital can take from one to two weeks. In agreement with the pediatrician, you should choose the time for walks during the day and start with ten minutes a day, gradually adding 10-20 minutes, bringing it to an hour by the month of life. In the future, walks in the fresh air should be carried out regularly for 2-3 hours in the morning and evening. Depending on the weather and time of year, the time for walking must be reduced or increased. A child's worries during walks can be caused by poor health or incorrectly selected clothes.

Daily walks are one of the ways to harden a child’s body and strengthen its immunity in the future.