When is a newborn baby ‘robust enough’ to meet people?

[TravellingJack]

Just wondering what other people are planning with their newborns! I’m due in a few weeks (so nicely timed for flu season starting up on top of everything else 🙄) and have had a few conversations with my DP about when the baby will get to meet people - family and friends.

Part of me thinks not for a good few weeks unless we get people to do a lateral flow test first… but otoh DS is at primary school so is going to be bringing fresh bugs home every day! He’s already on his second cold of term (we’re in Scotland so back since mid-Aug).

Other than hand-washing which we asked people to do when DS was brand new, what else is worth bothering with, considering DS is at school and after a couple of weeks, DP will be back at work with the public? Do we e.g. ask people to wear a mask if they want to hold the baby for the first week or three… or not bother with any extra measures? I’m not terribly anxious about this, just wanting to hear other thoughts.

Huh? Is this a new thing? Mine had met everyone on both sides of 2 large families within 24 hours, was taken to play groups with her big sister from 6 days and had been swimming by 2 weeks

It doesn’t actually come across as extreme as that on the website for c&W. Days you just take a test to for your birth partner to have access, ideally isolate for ten days prior, then it does say about the 36-37 weeks to minimise risk but only as a household ‘as much as possible’. I don’t really understand where they’re coming from on that to be honest, we aren’t in a lockdown anymore, and especially since a vaccine is available. I certainly wouldn’t have put myself on lockdown at 36 weeks, let alone expected DH to. He wouldn’t have been able to work and I’d have gone out of my mind.

Certainly nothing about birth partners not being allowed into the post labour ward- unless they test positive, obviously

@blindmelon123

I’ve no idea where/ what C&W is .

I understand the need to be careful, but to “shield” for four weeks before due date (potentially 6 weeks before birth) seems unattainable for many. Thankfully you seem to be able to cope with that, that’s great!

No partners allowed post natal sounds awful to me. I pray that rule doesn’t come into play when I’m due, DH & I would be gutted if he had to leave straight away.

@Reduceddutiesboredom it’s Chelsea and Westminster but they have no such rule as to not allow partners post-natally if they’re negative, and the shielding thing is guidance that I suspect is overdue an update. No other London borough hospitals have anything like that in place.

@WheelieBinPrincessyou don’t have to, that’s not what they’re saying. Isolating prior to due date is even more important now there isn’t a lockdown.. covid is rife. So many I know are now catching it, including myself and DP, when we’ve managed the whole pandemic avoiding catching it without doing too much in terms of germ control.

If someone wants to be absolutely sure they don’t catch covid the only way is to stay in.

It’s obviously not for everyone, but the thought of giving birth alone is obviously a lot for some.

I would have had people meeting my babies from birth but they spent 5 weeks and 4 weeks in hospital in 2016 and 2020 respectively.
They saw family within days of coming home. My eldest was 5 weeks old (38 weeks gestation/ corrected) and my youngest was 4 weeks (0 weeks corrected) and had just had surgery days before.
I felt like my babies needed to meet everyone after being isolated for so long

Tbh, while I was really relaxed about this with my first born and fully bought into the whole 'the more you build their immune systems the better' approach, having since had two babies on ventilators due to preventable viruses (one was 3 weeks ago with bronchillitis after rsv, which is rampant this summer) I am now much more careful with newborns and germs and being held by people. We had to transfer hospitals in the middle of the night last month because there were too many babies with bronchillitis in our local hospital to give DD oxygen support. It wasn't fun, and was preventable, and it'll be worse when flu starts going round

As someone said upthread, there will be nobody visiting your baby who is harbouring more germs than your primary aged DC! So perhaps you can afford to allow people to visit as early as you like (with the emphasis on 'as you like').

Personally, I have never kept people away from my babies. I was happy for people to visit as early as anyone wanted. Nobody I know smokes, so that was an influencing factor. As was the fact that I was breastfeeding so I was happy that the babies had the benefit of my own antibodies. That said, there are millions of babies, FF from birth, with older siblings and lots of visiting family, who have also powered happily through . Simple precautions such as handwashing, or delaying visiting if poorly will usually do the trick.

Our local hospital is the other side of London to C&W had the same advice re birth partners. It does make sense - if you have a planned c section or induction, you're tested two days before and if your birth partner tests positive they can't come. So stands to reason people are going to shield if they can in order to reduce that risk, because who wants to birth alone/miss the birth

It's not quite so relevant for non planned births, as there birth partners were tested on arrival so you're likely to have given birth by the time a positive test result would have been returned 12 or 24 hours later (and at our hospital they could have then stayed, just would have had up leave straight after the baby was born)

It's been a big topic of discussion amongst all the pregnant women I know, so doesn't sound strange at all to me!

From the minute they're born. Some people are far too precious. Their immune systems are brilliant from birth, as they have immunity from you.

@Peanutsandchilli

From the minute they're born. Some people are far too precious. Their immune systems are brilliant from birth, as they have immunity from you.

I would have thought this too until my newborn ended up in the hospital!!

PFB syndrome at it’s finest. Seriously, what if you had already had children and they were going to school/nursery. Would they require a test before they could sit within 2 meters of their sibling? Would you keep them off school until your baby was ‘robust’ enough to cope with the many germs they bring in from the outside world?

but otoh DS is at primary school so is going to be bringing fresh bugs home every day
For this reason we didn’t impose any restrictions on visitors as it just seemed hypocritical! Also if I learned anything over the past year and half it’s the importance of family/friends and how nice it is just to see people.

I also had my baby at C&W and was not told anything about shielding but wouldn’t have done it anyway. My eldest has missed quite a lot already thank to lockdowns and there was no way I was keeping her off school in the run up to the birth. Was slightly worried about being booted out of the Kensington Wing to the NHS side if I tested positive, more so than DH missing the event tbh, but thankfully that didn’t happen!

Does sound like shielding advise to me, more to be a bit more careful- which I’d expect any pregnant woman to be doing anyway.

@LakeShoreD I’m with you on family/ friends visiting. I’d you’d see them in the weeks before birth then why not after? Especially if whoever you live with is going to school/ work . Babies need to be exposed to germs to strengthen their immune system.

My family met both babies within the first 2 weeks, my mum the first day as was with me in labour

@Peanutsandchilli

From the minute they're born. Some people are far too precious. Their immune systems are brilliant from birth, as they have immunity from you.

I really do not think this is true. They have limited immunity from mum's body, and breastmilk if bfing, but they really are very tiny and vulnerable and if they do get ill they can go downhill fast.

I think it's likely newborns don't often get ill because they are not walking around touching everything like toddlers do. And while it's nice for different people to cuddle them in reality they get handed back to the parents fairly quickly.

My mum said this - that newborns can't get colds so we shouldn't worry about him getting covid of course they can catch a cold.

I’m due twins in the next month but being multiples they could arrive any day. I’m aware they could be early and more vulnerable

I’ve decided to let my mum and siblings visit at home and have cuddles from the start, but wider family only at a local outdoor cafe and no cuddles until I feel more comfortable. I sadly know many of my extended family have not been careful throughout the whole pandemic and it’s just not a risk I want to take.

My baby was born a week ago and we came home from hospital the day after. The day we came home we had my dad, my partners mum and nan meet baby, plus my 3 other children.

The next day we had visits from my best friend, my partners brothers, and my own brother and his wife.

We’ve also had 2 midwives round, and been to the hospital for his hearing test etc so came across several people there too.

As others have said, if baby is born with no issues or complications then I don’t see the problem with them meeting people from birth.