Should You Always Wash Your Hands Before Holding a Newborn Baby?
hamburgerIcon

Search for Ba

Orders

login

Profile

STORE
Skin CareHair CarePreg & MomsBaby CareDiapersMoreGet Mylo App

Get MYLO APP

Install Mylo app Now and unlock new features

💰 Extra 20% OFF on 1st purchase

🥗 Get Diet Chart for your little one

📈 Track your baby’s growth

👩‍⚕️ Get daily tips

OR

Cloth Diapers

Diaper Pants

This changing weather, protect your family with big discounts! Use code: FIRST10This changing weather, protect your family with big discounts! Use code: FIRST10
ADDED TO CART SUCCESSFULLY GO TO CART

Article Continues below advertisement

In this Article

  • Why is it Important to Wash Hands Before Holding a Newborn Baby?
  • How Long Does It Take for a Newborn’s Immune System to Develop?
  • Points to Remember Before Holding a Newborn Baby
  • How to Ask Guests to Wash Their Hands Before Holding Your Baby?
  • Conclusion
Is It Really Essential for People to Wash Their Hands Before Holding a Newborn?

Caring for your Newborn

views icons1299

Is It Really Essential for People to Wash Their Hands Before Holding a Newborn?

Updated on 7 November 2022

Undoubtedly in the first few weeks of life, your little one is very vulnerable and more susceptible to infections. Being a mother, your topmost priority is your baby’s well-being and safety. For that, you should not only stay extra cautious yourself but also ask your family members or guests to wash their hands before touching the baby.

Why is it Important to Wash Hands Before Holding a Newborn Baby?

A newborn baby’s immune system is immature and it cannot fight against illness and other infections. As per the experts, not only the baby’s immune system, but even the other organs of the body like lungs and brain are not fully developed. Cleanliness and sanitization of the baby’s room are thus very significant.

It is just not about washing the hands before touching the baby, it is equally important to ensure that the baby is not wearing the wet nappy for long. These little but hardcore tasks can surely give you sleepless nights, but there is nothing over and above your baby’s good health.

Article continues below advertisment

How Long Does It Take for a Newborn’s Immune System to Develop?

You can expect your newborn’s immune system to start getting stronger at around 3 months. In case, you had a premature baby, it may take longer than that. However, it doesn’t mean that you should stop following care instructions as soon as your baby turns more than 3-month-old. There are a lot of precautions you must take before holding your newborn baby, especially for the first three months of life. You may ease up a bit after that.

Points to Remember Before Holding a Newborn Baby

By now you know how important it is to keep your hands clean and your surroundings tidy. So now you can also keep these key points in the back of your mind and be sure to inform others before coming in contact with your delicate little one:

  • Keep the sleeves rolled up (above the elbow).

  • Always keep your nails short and tidy. Nails extension, long nails, and nail paint can carry more germs than you can ever imagine.

  • Except for plain wedding bands, you must take off all the jewelry, rings, and watches.

    Article continues below advertisment

  • Always make sure that you are using paper towels after each handwash and dispose of them after every use.

  • Never be in a hurry to wash your hands because your baby is completely dependent on you for bathing, feeding, playing, etc. So, try to wash your forearms as well.

  • Do not touch the tap with your clean hands after handwash, always use a towel.

  • Keep a hand sanitizer around and instruct your guests to use it before holding or playing with your baby.

  • Always ensure that the other children, cousins, or siblings in the house are washing or sanitizing their hands properly before touching the baby.

    Article continues below advertisment

How to Ask Guests to Wash Their Hands Before Holding Your Baby?

It is normal to be swarmed by relatives if you just had a baby. For the first 3 months of your baby’s life, it is essential for you to ask all visitors to wash or sanitize their hands before they hold, touch or play with your newborn baby. If visitors arriving at your home aren’t willing to wash their hands, then you can always offer them an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Some guests may argue against washing their hands as they are not sick but you should stand your ground. This a gentle reminder that people can spread germs without any visible signs of illness.

Conclusion

Cleanliness around your newborn always keeps dust particles, pollen other bacteria away from your baby and they will never suffer from diseases like asthma, flu, allergies, or other infections.

Is this helpful?

thumbs_upYes

thumb_downNo

Written by

Charu Pratap

Charu has been a seasoned corporate professional with over a decade of experience in Human Resource Management. She has managed the HR function for start-ups as well as established companies. But aside from her corporate career she was always fond of doing things with a creative streak. She enjoys gardening and writing and is an experienced content expert and linguist. Her own experiences with motherhood and raising a baby made her realize the importance of reliable and fact-based parenting information. She was engaged in creating content for publishing houses, research scholars, corporates as well as for her own blog.

Read More

Get baby's diet chart, and growth tips

Download Mylo today!
Download Mylo App

RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES

our most recent articles

foot top wavefoot down wave

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Awards

Mylo wins Forbes D2C Disruptor award

Awards

Mylo wins The Economic Times Promising Brands 2022

AS SEEN IN

Mylo Logo

Start Exploring

wavewave
About Us
Mylo_logo

At Mylo, we help young parents raise happy and healthy families with our innovative new-age solutions:

  • Mylo Care: Effective and science-backed personal care and wellness solutions for a joyful you.
  • Mylo Baby: Science-backed, gentle and effective personal care & hygiene range for your little one.
  • Mylo Community: Trusted and empathetic community of 10mn+ parents and experts.