Many new parents are uncertain about how much skin care a baby needs, starting with a standard bath, but also including how to deal with nappy rash and dry patches on the head. "There are no standards when it comes to caring for the skin of infants and small children," says Peter Hoeger, a professor in Paediatrics and Paediatric Dermatology at the Wilhelmstift Catholic Children's Hospital in Hamburg.
He recommends bathing infants around twice a week, preferably in plain water. Use a thermometer to get the water to body temperature. Those bathing their babies more often should add a little bath oil to the water. "Some parents try to add olive oil to the water for example, but that has no effect," Hoeger says, as these oils do not mix with the water.
Nina's midwife also advised plain water, counselling against shower gels and the like. The same applies to creams. "The skin of healthy and non-premature babies does not need cream," Hoeger says. Parents should be watchful here, as substances like calendula could cause allergies.
Nappy rash is a sensitive issue. "While children are still in nappies, cleanliness and taking care of the skin are priorities," says Heike Behrbohm of the German DAH skin and allergy association. Parents have to clean this area daily. Here Nina's midwife advised the use of cotton wool pads. "For washing the baby's hair, plain water is normally sufficient," Hoeger says.
Infants often develop so-called "cradle cap" - yellowish rash on the scalp. This is caused by the fact that babies have more sebaceous glands per square centimetre of skin than do adults. "Moreover, the glands are stimulated during pregnancy and the breastfeeding period by the mother's hormones," the professor adds. Parents should use a jojoba oil and jelly to dissolve the sebum.
Some parents use oil on their baby's skin, but Hoeger is against this too. "Oxidation products may develop that could irritate the skin," he says. Massaging with special baby oil is mostly unnecessary. A baby's skin is often red or a bit flaky in the first months of life, as it makes the radical change from the wet environment of the amniotic fluid in the womb to the dry air outside. The skin tends to scale off particularly after the second week.
"This is normal and lasts around four to six weeks," Hoeger says. Nina took her midwife's advice to use her own milk on her daughter's reddened skin patches, soaking a pad of cotton wool and applying it to the affected spots. It worked well in the sensitive areas, she says. A baby's face is particularly sensitive, and Nina applies cream after bathing. Now that her daughter is five months, she feels less need of the midwife's advice, trusting her own gut feelings instead.
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