How long after bringing baby home from the hospital can you bath her?

Question

I'm hispanic and so i was told by my mother not to bathe baby until the umbilical cord falls off :) i could you a wash cloth to wipe her down but i should not bathe her until her belly button is completely healed! is this true?

Answer 1

I didn't bathe the babies till the cord came off. I baby wiped them if they needed a little cleaning.

Answer 2

I used a wash cloth and wiped down her body one arm or leg at a time. I didn't put her in bath water until cord fell off.

Answer 3

Bird baths until the cord fall off ... plus they really don't do anything that would cause them to need a bath right away ... use burp rags and sponge bath them ....

If the cord stays moist I think it takes longer to fall off is all ...  

Answer 4

Yes that is true

Answer 5

You can give sponge type baths until the cord area is completely healed then you can give baths.

Answer 6

Yeah this is true but it has nothing to with being hispanic..it has to do with keeping the cord dry so it falls off...and heals right

Answer 7

I top and tailed her with a wash cloth for the 1st week, then I bathed her. Just be gentle around the belly button area.

Answer 8

our doctor told us to bathe our newborn once or twice a week. he said it was ok to put him in the baby bath before his cord came off but not to submerge the cord and to try not to soak it.

Answer 9

Yes, that is true.  You give only sponge "baths" until the cord is fully healed, which is usually somewhere around 10-14 days.

Answer 10

Right.  A sponge bath can be given any time. No tub baths until the cord has come off.  

Answer 11

i bathed my baby everyday with a cloth til the u8mbellical cord came off then i put her in the baby bath tub. its good to put baby oil in the water to bathe the baby..

Answer 12

1) hispanic has nothing to do with how long u should take to bathe ur baby. u give us a bad name.  

2) u know how to get pregnant but u dont know how to bathe a baby? interesting i would think after 5 kids you would know the answer to this..

3)wipe the baby clean avoid the cord...JUST A THOUGHT LOL

Answer 13

I didn't till the cord fell off, think it was a week and a half when it came off. I just gave her a sponge bath and held her in like a football hold over the sink to wash thier hair.

Answer 14

I don't think that rule is only for hispanics. I am african american and with both of my children I did not submerge there bodies in water until the umbilical cord had fallen off. I even remember if  the doctor suggested that or my mother. But either way I trusted them both, and everyone else i no says the same thing.

Answer 15

Where abouts in the world are you?

I have 2 children, one was born in the UK and the other born in America.

In America they advise you to only give sponge baths until the cord has fallen off.

In the UK you can bath as soon as you want to.

I bathed both of mine the day after the birth (much to the horror of the nurses in the American hospital), it's Ok to get the cord wet, just try and let it air dry afterwards.

Answer 16

I just sponge bathe all 3 of  my kids till it just fell off. My mother told me the same thing.

Answer 17

Yes, you can use a wash cloth for now. I don't think being hispanic has anything to do with your mom's reasonings. I'm hispanic too, but I was told by the hospital staff and doctor not to bath baby until the cord falls off. I would bathe my son every other day until he was three months old to keep his skin from getting too dry. Newborn babies don't get that dirty, so you don't have to bathe her very often.