How not to bathe a newborn.

[foxytocin]

This is distressing so you may not want to watch it if you are feeling emotionally fragile but the father of the baby wants as many people as possible to view it and comment on it on youtube. He wants others to be aware of what can happen in a hospital.
For me the underlying question is how could not intervene! The only answer I have is that in hospital we allow a lot more to be done to us and to our families without questioning their authority - and this is partly why we women become so vulnerable to possible maltreatment when we get there.

Where in God's name was that taken???

I am truly shocked. I was a midwife back in the 70s and would never have allowed a baby to be handled or treated like that on my ward.

Bloody hell poor thing! I'm not one for suing willy nilly but I think they should sue over that. The baby was actually choking at one point :(

THat is just awful You could hear water going in that babys mouth as it had it's head run under the tap. No care at all, and so rough with the towel.

No way I can watch (am 37 weeks pg and sleep deprived) but the hospital don't inspire confidence in yourself. After I had gone to have a bath post delivery I went back into the room where DD had been having a father-daughter chat with his new DD and I said to my mum 'Am I allowed to pick her up?', which sounds really stupid but it was completely how I felt.

Sorry. Don't want to click on that linkie..

Oh poor little thing! putting the baby under a running tap? and since when did a newborn need that much soap?!

out of interest why the hell are the hospital bathing the baby in the first place?

it is weird isnt it mrsB? When I had DS a lady came round later in the day and did his first bath - but showing me how to do it. And was very gentle, and only used a little bit of olive oil on him. Certainly no running water involved either.

DP also just stood with his face like this at that video.

Why did nobody intervene? How could they all stand there like that watching that nurse/midwife being so rough and callous with the poor baby? The nurse/midwife should be bloody struck off for treating the baby like that

I think this video was in the States where they pay a fucking lot of money to hospitals too . Because of that fact I didn't really want to link to MN but lots of women are on here from other countries where babies are routinely removed out of the room straight after childbirth. So it is a buyer beware thing.

Plus I wanted to highlight how we can unquestionably let stuff happen to us in hospitals that no where else in our right minds we'd allow.

FWIW, I have only watched this once and I am not even post natal. can't bring myself to watch it again.

oh my goodness - had to turn it off - shocking

I worked in America for a while, and never saw babies bathed in that way.

(Circumcisions OTOH were absolutely barbaric....shudder).

DD1s first bath was under a running tap, the midwife didnt let her choke though and gave her to us to dry....I think the drying was worse than the washing, poor little baby.

It deffinatly doesn't look like a UK hospital set up (baby in incubator in the background that appears to be unattedned by any staff etc). If it is the USA then it doesn't surprise me, routine bathing after birth and prophylactice eye drops to redusce the tiny risk of infection are the norm, it's all very sad :(

Christ that looks really mean. The HCA did my baby's first bath in the hospital (he was prem so we'd been in ages and I was scared to do it cos of his nose tube). She really chucked him around, she was really rough and holding him with one hand, and really scrubbing his poor soft head...I was really upset and screaming at her to get off him. Was made to feel v pfb by everyone at the hospital and DP but now I've had my second and gave him a lovely quick gentle first dip at home, I know I was bloody right.

We bathed our little one earlier (3 wks old) and it couldn't have been more different, I thought at the time what a flap and palava by two grown adults but if anyone had tried handling her like that in hospital I think my totally besotted husband would have have physically extracted her from them if my hysterics hadn't had any effect.

Thank god im planning a home birth!!!

jesus chris that is insane. i could not have stood there na d filmed while my baby was being tortured like that. she actually put the baby's head under the tap!!!! i am .

where the hell is this?

owlingate, for you and your baby. you should not have been made to feel that way at all.

i know this clip, why share it here though? what possible benefit did you envisage sharing it? its years old

when i was in hospital recently parents of a new born were doing this at the sink next to my bed. i think they weredoing it with cold water.

their baby screamed all the time and had to be taken to a private room in the night it was so bad...

That can't be this country, can it?

FWIW Dh gave both our boys their first bath.

porca, I have explained below and if you read owlingate's first post you will see that it is relevant to the UK. as for it being years old, well, I don't concur. 3yrs is hardly old.