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Waiting to bathe newborns improves exclusive breastfeeding rates
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Exclusive breastfeeding in hospitals improved following the introduction of a protocol that delayed newborn baths for 12 or more hours after birth, according to research published in the Journal for Obstetrics, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing.
Heather DiCioccio, DNP, RNC-MNN, a nursing professional development specialist for the mother/baby unit at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital, conducted the study after encountering an increasing number of mothers who had asked that the baby’s first bath be delayed.
“They were reading on mom blogs that it was better to wait to bathe their baby the first time, since amniotic fluid has a similar smell to the breast, which may make it easier for the baby to latch,” DiCioccio said in a press release.
DiCioccio and colleagues wrote that at their institution, neonates were initially bathed within 2 hours of birth. However, the researchers observed low rates of in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding.
To assess the effect of delayed bathing, the researchers examined the breastfeeding outcomes of 448 infants born before the intervention was put in place and 548 infants born after the intervention was put in place.
The median amount of time before bathing was 1.9 hours for the preintervention group and 17.9 hours for the postintervention group. Before newborn baths were delayed, 59.8% of infants were exclusively breastfed within the hospital. This percentage increased to 68.2% in the postintervention group. DiCioccio and colleagues added that all mother-child pairs increased their rate of in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding after the intervention (OR = 1.60; 95% CI, 1.14-2.25; P = .006).
Delayed newborn baths also affected feeding after hospital discharge. Infants in the postintervention group were more likely to have a feeding plan that promoted breastfeeding.
“It is now our policy to delay the bath at least 12 hours unless the mom refuses to wait,” DiCioccio said. “In that case, we ask for 2 hours.” – by Katherine Bortz
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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