To be livid about hand hygiene offence?

[Yummymummy2020]

To cut it short but rant. Partners family taking offence at being asked to use hand sanitiser or wash hands before handling our new baby. Particular offence taken at asking the children to use it. I know I’m not unreasonable wanting hand hygiene to be followed before touching our new born, but I feel like really distancing myself from them over this. It’s not just about the corona virus I’m concerned about the baby picking up anything as they are so young. To add to this, certain members are living with a currently sick person which I feel makes it even more crucial to ensure their hands are clean. Would it be really unreasonable to just keep away until the baby has their vaccinations? I know this won’t solve colds/flu but at least the child can have calpol if they do get sick. I’m also annoyed for being called odd by them for wanting them to make sure to use the gel or wash their hands. I have the gel by the way I’m not demanding anyone track it down. I’m livid right now so don’t want to say/ act on anything in haste!

I have 2 DCs and was never so OTT as demanding this and neither were ever ill until starting nursery/school. However, it is your house, your rules and in that scenario I wouldn’t be bothered about doing it. However, they do need to build the immune system.

Normally I would say that YABU, but in this climate, not at all. It never crossed my mind to ask people to wash their hands before holding any of my three children, but then I used to be naive enough to think that everyone washed their hands after using the toilet etc. Babies do need to build up resistance from day one, but I would never have allowed anyone with even a common cold anywhere near my very young baby. However, with the Coronavirus situation I would not be allowing any visitors except maybe healthy Grandparents. Send everyone else photos and videos of your baby!

glennamy, germs aren't visible and you can't assume visibly spotless hands have been washed after a visit to the toilet, a ride on the bus or an encounter with an e.coli riddled touchscreen!

Children especially scratch their bottoms and pick their noses. Think about it. A small child is perfectly capable of coughing or sneezing right into a tiny baby's open mouth. You bet I'll be washing my hands every time I hold my as-yet-unborn grandchild, about to be born into a burgeoning epidemic! DiL will not need to ask or remind me, either. And I won't be doing anything more than I would have done anyway.

Did Lister, Pasteur et al live and learn and lecture in vain?

Are there really people in 2020 so blasé that they are happy to return to Victoria and Edwardian infant mortality rates? I expect it's only other people's babies they're unconcerned about.

I must make myself a Supergranny cloak because I will be springing into action if I see anyone but a gloved health professional sticking their finger in baby's mouth!

I luckily haven't had to ask with DS2 who was born in January - when he was born the whole family had colds and stayed away, apart from DS1 who was trained to wash his hands after very sneeze.
Now with the coronavirus situation I'm even more careful!
I wasn't fussed with DS1 but he was born im April so not when everyone had colds and coughs.

No you are right to ask this. especially now, with a pandemic looming over the world, you may be giving them some clue about what they aught to be doing, anyway. Look on it as teaching them a valuable lesson.
And all of you who assumed this was her first baby- shame on you all.

I’m def not a poster person for sterile homes I can promise you that ha ha. Genuinely just want basic hand hygiene around a vulnerable newborn as per the intensive care units advice. I also can promise you I have never bleached out my home bar my bathroom and kitchen, everywhere else is doing well If it gets a quick hoover and dust! I don’t agree homes have to be sterile but I do think a new baby’s bottles, teats ect should be sterilised while they are small simply because that’s the current nhs advice, I won’t continue to do this when they are bigger. I also won’t mind baby rolling around in mud later on or doing other kid things but right now I’m specifically referring to a spanking new baby fresh out of the nicu.

@jellybeanclevertips I genuinely never expected there to be so many divided views! I always would have washed my hands before handling a new baby myself, I always figured they were in the at risk group of becoming quite poorly when they were so young, so it was never really anything but automatic for me, same as if I was visiting someone in hospital ect. I do have to wonder will people improve hand hygiene now in general that there is very vocal and widespread advice to all over the news and from health professionals? I think this thread has certainly served to educate me that I do indeed need to be cautious about people adverse to hand washing in general ha ha, especially when a poster mentioned research she read that a large number of folk don’t even wash their hands after the bathroom, this was new to me too!

Babies do need to build up resistance from day one

Not to viruses they don’t. Before 8 weeks babies have basically no functioning immune system. This is supposed to build from small amounts of environmental bacteria and breast milk.

Viruses that would be relatively harmless to older children or adults can kill newborn babies - things like HSV1, and whooping cough. An adult who no doubt thought they just had a bad cough gave my son whooping cough as a small baby. Another friend’s baby contracted HSV1 in nicu from an unknown source. Newborns should be protected from viruses as far as possible. By 8 weeks their immune system is starting to function, prior to that catching something simple and common like RSV can make babies very sick indeed.

Haven’t rtft but it amazes me that after how many threads there are about how gross it is if you don’t change your bra every day, if you don’t shower every day yuk etc, posters are saying it’s OTT to expect clean hands when picking up a baby.

Madness

@SinkGirl you are completely correct, that is also what we were warned about! I’m sorry your son caught whooping cough, i was also told that’s very serious in young babies too. Aside from the heart ache of seeing them suffer so much it is something I have no doubt most parents would want to prevent if at all possible. I don’t think anyone on the thread thinks we all need to bleach our houses out, the majority of people seem to agree basic hand hygiene is important in those early days and weeks. It’s not that you don’t want your baby exposed to unnecessary illness beyond that, but it’s especially important at the start! One of the best ways we can protect ourselves and others especially the very young and old is good hand hygiene!

We’re supposed to change bra’s EVERY DAY?!

@SharkBrilliant I was surprised too! And the thread is getting too long to read everything now but it is surprising the amount of people that think it’s over the top, and even more of whom don’t believe in sterilising things for a new baby ect. I don’t follow all health guidelines blindly, but I would feel that Good hand hygiene is just one of those things most people would be familiar and accepting of.

@DropYourSword supposedly so! I will openly say I don’t, maybe that will clarify that I’m not a total germaphobe or bleaching the house every five minutes 😂😂😂😂 (nervously awaits abuse for not changing my bra from people that disagree with hand washing)😂😂😂

@DropYourSword I do change it every few days though just before the genuine horror begins to show as people read it! 😂😂😂

Haven’t rtft but it amazes me that afterhow manythreads there are about how gross it is if you don’t change your bra every day, if you don’t shower every day yuk etc, posters are saying it’s OTT to expect clean hands when picking up a baby.

I saw less pushback on MN against a poster who was bleaching her outdoor patio constantly!

@PotholeParadise I’m so surprised by the annoyance of some about it, many are indifferent and also many agree with hand hygiene and new borns, but some posters are outraged almost at the idea! It’s very interesting to hear all sides of the discussion but I have to say despite the strong feelings against after reading posters on the pro hand washing side and people’s experiences with young babies getting ill and also the information on newborns immune systems I will be standing my ground as much as possible!!!

I think if it was specifically about coronavirus then I would understand more. But you say it isn't - it's a general rule. Then yAbu. Children need to build up resistance to germs and infections to build their immunity system and being overly precious about it will not serve your child well. They will catch everything that's going, it's normal and you can't wrap them in cotton wool. Immunologists day overly disinfected hones is one reason why there's a rise in allergies and intolerances. And relax.

I would never have allowed anyone with even a common cold anywhere near my very young baby

So what you would have done in my case then? Kicked your husband out of the house until your baby was older?

What Bouledeneige said!

It's not that big a deal to ask visitors to wash hands, that sanitizer stuff is awful though, I never use it.

Bear in mind that he or she will be rolling around the floor licking god knows what within four or five months. DS (9mo) is on a mission to chew shoes and lick pram wheels. Get it in perspective.

@Bouledeneige it’s not specifically about corona virus, it’s about the fact it’s a newborn baby(just out of intensive care) that we were instructed to make everyone wash their hands before holding for the first while.
Obviously I dont want the baby to catch corona virus, but actually, at this point in time, other illnesses that would not harm say a four month old, could land the baby straight back in icu getting a lumbar puncture hence the concern of hand hygiene. But honestly, I do think it’s good practice and I wouldn’t only do it with my own baby, if any friends have babies I’ll wash my hands too (even if they feel it’s over the top I’d still rather do it in case they don’t want to ask for fear of backlash) children do need exposure to germs but i don’t agree newborn babies do, the current recommendations are best practice based on research in the current climate (as per the intensive care consultant that looked after us)particularly With the likes of the corona virus circulating now, but even before this all started with that I still would want clean hands before I went near the babies face/fed them ect, but to be fair I also would clean my hands after the bathroom and handling food ect or touching pets. Unfortunately though not everyone does and I guess that’s how some posters had awful experiences with their young babies getting so ill. Of course our little one is high risk and so we have to be more particular as a result. But just to clarify, they won’t be wrapped in cotton wool by any means when they are more sturdy!

@severalboxes and at that age that’s totally fine, we all did it! But this is specifically a new baby not a mobile baby that is older. I do think there is a big difference but that’s Just my opinion and it’s good to hear others!

Bear in mind that he or she will be rolling around the floor licking god knows what within four or five months. DS (9mo) is on a mission to chew shoes and lick pram wheels. Get it in perspective.

Within 5 months she will have a functioning immune system. It’s completely different.

I read some fascinating stuff from a professor who works with childhood leukaemia and he found that children need a significant immune-priming event in the first year of life to protect against all sorts of things. They do not need it in the first three months when they don’t have the ability to fight things off.

I don’t understand people who say YABU. If you made a newborn baby ill - even if they didn’t end up being admitted to hospital, you’d be mortified wouldn’t you? I know I would be!

And the whole “they need germs” - not when they’ve just been born! And if they’re not being breastfed then they’re not going to get the mother’s antibodies either. Just wash your hands FFS!

Does anyone think a 2-3 week old baby would actually benefit more from getting sick than they would potentially suffer? Because that's what you're saying if you say "they need to boost their immune system", and it's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.