Did you know it's best to bathe babies in water alone?

[mears]

As a midwife I get hacked off seeing the advert that says 8/10 midwives use Johnsons baby products ( unfortunately a survey by the Royal College of Midwives has found out that is true!).

Anyway - I get annoyed at colleagues and mums giving baby's baths full of bubbles as it has been shown that the use of these products disrupts the balance of the skin, increasing the incidence of eczema and skin rashes etc.

The advice is that babies should be bathed in water only for at least the first two weeks ( including hair) to allow the skin to continue formation of the protective mantle post delivery.

In 'Practical Parenting' magazine this month mums are advised to take baby bath and shampoo into hospital with them as part of essential items. Not only are they an unnecessary expense they are potentially damaging to tender skins.

How many mums thought these products were essential?

Our eldest daughter started suffering from eczema at 2mos, and we used an emolient cream after bathing and morning and night, and a steroid cream for flaresups. She had it fairly badly. We also used oilatum in the bath instead of soap, but it still did not go, and about a year ago I rang the National Eczema helpline who went through her routine with me, and pinpointed it to the fact that I was still using J & J baby shampoo on her hair most nights. This was working like soap and drying her skin out, and increasing the eczema. I saw almost instant results when I stopped using it, and now use oilatum shampoo and a bit of oilatum soap. Our younger daughter born when I had started doing this has very little eczema.

I'm never so sure about the mildness of J&J products - anything that has such a strong smell must have something in it. We never use them, mainly as I am allergic to most of it, and I've never been allergic to anything, so I didn't want to expose my children to it. Apparantley I am allergic (from skin testing) to the thing they put in to make it 'No More Tears'.
I just use a tiny bit of my own shampoo when washing dd's hair, and nothing at all on ds, he's too small to get dirty still.

Talking about the mildness of J& J products, here's a disturbing piece of information from my hairdresser:

I was complaining how my hair dye colour fades, even though it's meant to be permanent. She asked me if I use Johnson's baby shampoo. I said I do sometimes. She warned me it strips dye colour far more quickly than adult shampoos.

Bit worrying, isn't it?

Er, yeah just a little tigermoth! Luckily when dd was born I had my midwife mother on hand who warned me against putting smelly stuff in the water, so I didn't, for a while... However with the brainwashing these advertising slags use on us everyday I ran out and bought some of that lavender and chamomile jonhson's stuff as soon as it hit the shelves - well, the advert mentioned promoting natural sleep for your baby blah blah blah... SUCKER!

the only time we use bubbles on ds is to have a laugh - me that is! I find that if you put a lot in then put them all over his head like a quiffy wig, draw matching sideburns on with more bubbles and stand back to enjoy the view, he looks just like santa claus meets elvis I hasten to add, have only done it twice, once to amuse me and once to show dh. We laughed so much ds got quite confused, and a little upset. Usually, we use nothing, and also a new damp j cloth for wiping face post food is much better than even the most sensitive baby wipes - a small red patch by ds's mouth which was exacerbated by dribbling completely disappeared when we ditched the wipes for all but the bum!

Tigermoth, I was told that the J&J shampoo is formulated so it doesn't sting the eyes but that means the Ph is all wrong for hair! Wonderful.

I have gradually been suckered into bubble bath and shampoo. Have been using Asda George easybreathe (supposedly to clear DS's tubes) but for the first time in months he is clear so last night did not use. I'm not too bad - though because at 17 months he is still on his first bar of soap (used on body but not face) and first bottle of shampoo. Only another 4 bottles to go then.... (all provided by MIL).

I have to admit for all my fine words on the evils of Johnson and Johnson, I do use a splash of kids bubble bath with my nearly three year old toddler. Although I steered clear of baby bubble bath, my sons, as babies past the newborn stage, often shared a bath with me. The water wasn't always clear of smelly potions. And yes, they both had a hint of excema. When this occurred I stopped putting bubble bath in pronto.

BTW, do you actually have to use any shampoo on toddler's hair? My son's hair never gets greasy. All it does is lose its shine a little when dirty. Could lashings of clean water be sufficient? My toddler hates the shampoo ritual and I am wondering if it is really necessary.

Message withdrawn

Remember this question I posted? Well a midwife friend of mine has recently returned to work as a bank midwife and has decided that something has to be done about midwives using bubblebath on newborns. This is the same friend I have mentioned before whose last baby I delivered and weighed 12lb 2oz! I made sure her last 2 babies were bathed in plain water only before we left the labour ward and their skin was much better that her first 2 older children's. She has managed to write an article which is going to be published in November's Midwives' Journal which is a publication the midwives receive if they are members of the Royal College of Midwives.
A friend has made her a web page and put her article on it. I thought it might be useful to see what you all thought about it.

She is also hoping to publish a Pocket Book of Breastfeeding which she has written but is not having much luck getting a publisher interested. I know there are mumsnetters out there who have the knowledge to help. There is a contact number on the site should anybody have useful tips.
this

Hope nobody minds me putting this info on - honest I am not a secret TV programme maker

I remembered you mentioning the use of products a while ago and have bathed dd in water alone and she wasnt bathed when she was born. I used products on ds and he later developed ezcema, conected? I dont know or he just got it because I had it as a child. Maybe it might not have been as bad. I will bath dd in just water for as long as possible and hopefully bf to 6 months to help eliminate the chances.

I havnt had chance to read all your friends findings but when I have will comment.

Mears, your friend is very glamorous, I wish I looked like that after 2 children let alone 4!!

Interesting site too.

The local community midwives told me not to add anything to bath water (ever) as they are all chemicals and can dry out the skin. The health visitors on the other hand...

I have also been using just water on both mine (dd1 nearly 3, dd2 2 weeks). But what about hair washing? Dd2 has lots of hair that gets sicky/milky and she needs it washed occasionally, what should I use?

Mears - your friend's work looks really impressive. I was visitor number 17! My daughter aged nearly 3 has eczema, which while not very serious, does cause her skin to break sometimes with scratching. It will be interesting to see how our next baby gets on when we're following all that advice.

Enid - water alone is fine for hair too - honestly

Just checked - the site has has 25 hits now. When I looked it had 4. She will be so pleased.

I am such a bath potion addict I just can't believe that plain water would do a good job of cleaning hair...but I'll try it, honestly!!

Enid, although dd doesnt have alot of hair, I only use water all the time and she comes out nice and clean, honest. Also sometimes I only wash ds hair with water depending if he is itchy or not and again fine.

Interesting mears. I don't think ds had his first bath for about 10 days.

I put a tiny and I mean tiny amount of baby bath in dd's (6.5 months) bath water and she is washed in that. No shampoo.

Ds was much the same and at some point I started using a tiny bit of shampoo and a bottle of that lasted years! It wasn't Johnson's though I think it was Superdrug. Even now at age 3 he only gets some shampoo and showers in pure water.

I hate using baby wipes too although I do for poos but always clean bottoms afterwards in clean water to rinse the chemicals off.

I wonder if shampoo is necessary on young children's hair, too. Why not water alone, plus a comb through with conditioner if you are bug busting - rinsed off with water afterwards.

My sons both hated shampoo as toddlers - now the oldest will happily shampoo his own hair, rinsing it off as well. I wonder if I should stop using shampoo on the youngest until he is happy to have it on his head, too. I only shampoo his hair once every 10 days if that - I use water the rest of the time, and his hair looks clean enough to me.

Very interesting mears, thanks. I only use water on ds2 (5 months) Thankfully, a midwife told me only water for 2 weeks, wish she'd said longer. I think what you're doing is great.
What are you feelings on baby wipes, as I do use these now he's bigger.

As ds has had severe eczema, I have nver used any bath products or shampoos and he looks, feels and smells absolutely delicious. One mum exclaimed that it was a pity I didnt have a baby with that 'baby smell', I presume she meant the one you can only achieve with bubble bath! Daft tw*t. A pharmacist once confided to me that there were more complaints about Johnsons products causing skin reactions than any other baby product.

I haven't read through all of this, but have a question for Mears, my dd is 5 weeks old,(wish I had known about bathing in just water) anyhow her skin has a rash over face, ears, top of torso, speckled dots, and skin on face and ears is hard and flaky (using unguentum merk - not spelt right but you get the idea). Anyhow obviously dd not looking her best! But don't care about that at this stage, will the rash fade, should I just use water from now on? (DS had same thing at this age, so I am not too concerned). Also I have my 6 week check next week so will bring it up then.

I would like to say a BIG thankyou to Mears for bringing up the subject of skincare. I am her friend and collegue and the mother of four children, including my huge 12lb2oz ds! Together, we are trying to rid the maternity unit of baby products. My article on this subject, which Mears posted as a link on this site, explains everything in depth and I would like to say how excited I was when the 'hit' counter went from 2-68 in 24 hours! Nice to know that other people are interested in this subject too. A note to Enid: Thankyou for your lovely comments. You can use a mild solution of bubbles for very sicky smelly hair, but no need for shampoo. However, under a month of age, then I would put up with the smell and use only plain water. To agaazaa: Your dd of 5 weeks rash will clear up of its own accord. Use only plain water for a few weeks , then reintroduce products gradually. You can mention it at your postnatal, but you will probably just be prescribed more creams, full of chemicals, that could do more harm than good.
My main mission at present is to get my 'pocket guide to breastfedding' published. This is an easy to understand book, written for the woman in the street. It is based on personal experience and covers all you need to know and what to do about any problems etc. If anyone knows of an Agent or Publisher, who is interested, then go to my web-page and send me an e.mail.I look forward to your comments.