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Care and hygiene for a newborn girl: 9 useful tips

Care and hygiene for a newborn girl is a very important moment for which you need to prepare even before the birth of your daughter. In the first few weeks after birth, babies urinate too often, so proper hygiene is the best prevention for the onset of inflammatory processes or various diseases. Care of the genitals of the girl should be thorough and regular.

Baby care in the first days of life

1. Genital Care

In newborn girls, in the first days, you can notice the formation of a cream-colored plaque on the external genitalia. It appears on average up to the tenth day of life. Such a lubricant is commonly called the original smegta. You only need to remove it when there is too much of it. In other cases, the selection will disappear on its own.

If during this period of a child's life it is wrong to take care of the external genitalia, then the excreted secret will begin to oxidize. This can lead to the appearance of an inflammatory process and severe irritation in the labia area. You need to remove the discharge with cotton swabs dipped in boiled water (it should have a temperature of 36-37 degrees). It is even better to use boiled peach or apricot oil. Plaque must be removed very carefully so as not to damage the delicate skin of the newborn.

Care and hygiene for a newborn girl should be constant, because it will take some time to remove plaque. It is quite dense, so it will not be washed well. Finally, such discharge disappears by the tenth day of the baby's life.

Their further development depends on how correct the care of the genital organs will be. Due to the fact that the girl may experience hormonal physiological changes, a small amount of bloody discharge can be noticed on the mucous membrane. The pediatrician during the examination in the first month of the child's life will tell the parents whether to worry about this or not.

2. Care of the ears and umbilical wound

If we talk about other organs, caring for a newborn girl in the first month of life also includes the treatment of an umbilical wound, ear care. With the help of cotton flagella, you need to remove only that earwax that can be seen from the outside of the auditory canal. Do not try to remove as much sulfur as possible. These secretions also act as protection. Do not use cotton swabs to clean the ears. They will push the sulfur further into the passages, which can lead to the formation of sulfur plugs.

Caring for the umbilical wound of a newborn baby must also be very careful and follow some rules. The navel is processed only after bathing. Once a day is enough. The duration of treatment is on average 8-10 days after birth. As a rule, a brilliant green solution is used. In some cases, you can use a one percent solution of chlorophyllipt. Watch carefully so that the inflammatory process does not begin to develop. At the first sign of its appearance, you should contact your pediatrician.

3. Respiratory Care

Care and hygiene for a newborn girl includes the hygiene of the respiratory organs, namely the nasal passages. Daily clean the nose from crusts, snot with the help of small cotton turundas. Before removing the crusts, they need to be softened a little. To do this, use sterile vegetable oil. It is better not to use sprays, aspirators, which can damage the too delicate mucous membrane in the nose.

4. Nail care

You do not need to cut your nails in the first days of a baby's life. They are still very soft. This procedure can be started after the first month of a girl's life. Cutting nails with nail scissors will not work. It is necessary to purchase special scissors for newborns or tweezers. As a rule, it will be enough to cut your nails once a week. It is better to do this during sleep or when you are feeding the baby, so as not to scare or injure.

5. Eye care

Eye care is also an important daily routine. Wipe the baby's eyes with a cotton pad dipped in boiled water. It is very important to wipe the eyes starting from their corner and ending near the bridge of the nose. If any discharge from the eyes (for example, purulent) appears, they will not spread to the entire eye of the child.

6. How to bathe a newborn baby

Water procedures can be started only after the umbilical wound has completely healed. At the same time, it is worth adhering to some rules that will help to properly carry out the daily toilet of a newborn girl.

  • Before bathing, be sure to wash your hands.
  • The girl should have her own individual towel and the softest possible sponge.
  • It should also be a separate soap. It is best to buy a hypoallergenic product.
  • The water temperature should not exceed 37 degrees.
  • A jet of water is necessarily directed from the abdomen to the priest, while the labia must be parted. Otherwise, there is a risk of infection of the genital organs of the baby.
  • You can bathe in herbs once a week, not more often. Too often bathing in herbs can provoke a variety of problems with sensitive skin.
  • Do not bathe more than once every two days, as this can lead to excessive dryness of the skin.
  • Make sure that soap does not get inside the genitals, directly into the vagina. This can cause the appearance of synechia - growths. A similar problem, according to statistics, occurs only in 3% of newborn girls, but in fact the percentage is much higher.

7. Diapers

Care and hygiene for a newborn girl involves changing diapers every 2-3 hours in case of urination. After a bowel movement, you need to carry out a water procedure, but only the priests and genitals of the baby. Use wet wipes for this only in extreme cases. This will reduce the risk of allergic reactions, and the skin will always be cleaner than after wipes.

In order for a little girl not to develop thrush in the vagina and in the oral cavity, before each feeding, the mother must wash her breasts very carefully. If a woman suffers from candidiasis, then it must be cured as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the newborn baby faces too serious complications.

8. Proper care of the mammary glands of a girl

When caring for a newborn girl, you need to pay attention to her nipples. A week after birth, the baby's breasts may swell a little, redness will appear, in some cases, you can notice the release of white contents. This process is classified as hormonal and it is considered normal for this age of the child.

It is not necessary for the baby to rub her breasts or squeeze out the contents, if any. Make sure that the nipples do not rub against the baby's clothes. The process should pass on its own 10-20 days after the baby is born. You should consult a doctor if the swelling is too strong or there is a lot of discharge. The girl's nipples must be washed with a fairly weak solution of furacilin several times a day. It acts as a disinfectant and soothes the delicate skin.

In order to remove the swelling, you can use special compresses with a small amount of camphor oil. But this recommendation is not mandatory.

9. Massage and gymnastics while swimming

Massage and gymnastics while bathing can be carried out after the girl's navel has completely healed. You can do the procedure in a regular bath. It is enough to clean it with soda before that. Do not confuse washing a girl with bathing her. During massage and gymnastics, the baby should not cry, but it is desirable that she be active. The water temperature should be slightly lower than during normal swimming - 32-34 degrees.

No need to add potassium permanganate to the water. It will not act as a disinfectant, but it may well lead to severe burns to the mucous membranes or eyes. It is better to add a small amount of fresh decoction of string, chamomile to the prepared water. To prepare it, pour a glass of dry plants with a liter of boiling water and leave for 20 minutes under the lid. It is best to carry out the procedure before the last feeding. The duration of massage, gymnastics and bathing should not exceed forty minutes.

In the first few months of a girl's life, as a massage and gymnastics, you can use the movements of the legs, handles that will imitate cycling, scissors. The movement of the limbs of the child in a circle is considered very useful. You can slightly squeeze, unclench them. Do not forget that you need to massage the tummy. It is necessary to massage only clockwise with light movements for about 5-7 minutes.

Some experts recommend just before bathing the baby, lay it on the tummy. You can put a little pressure on the feet, as if to make her start to crawl. Such an exercise significantly improves digestion, allows you to quickly strengthen the muscles of the child. If you do such manipulations regularly, then the baby will be able to hold his head on his own faster.

Massage also involves light pinching, stroking the body. Start the procedure from the feet and gradually move to the shoulders, neck. After bathing, carefully treat all the folds with a baby hammer, sterile cosmetic oil to prevent the appearance of diaper rash and irritation.

Clothes for a newborn girl

Caring for a baby also involves a careful choice of clothes. The most important rule is that there should be no synthetics. Make sure that absolutely all things are made exclusively from natural fabric. Wash things only with baby powder, which will not contain phosphates, other substances that are dangerous for delicate baby skin. In the first month after the birth of a girl, steam all things from the inside, the outside, iron thoroughly. Modern irons allow you to do this quickly and efficiently.

It is worth saying a few words about diapers, which make life easier for every modern mother. Choose them according to the age of the baby and her weight. Care and hygiene for a newborn girl involves the use of diapers only while walking or sleeping. During wakefulness it is better to be without diapers. It is worth noting that if the room is more than 25 degrees and still wear a diaper, then this can cause severe irritation, diaper rash. In the summer, it is better to use diapers made from natural fabrics.


When to start teaching a girl about personal hygiene

Care and hygiene for a newborn girl is the responsibility of parents, but it is worth teaching the baby to do it on her own from birth. When parents bathe, cut their nails, comb, clean their ears, then this becomes familiar to the baby.

It is necessary to show independence in this matter by personal example. The older the baby becomes, the more freedom you can give her. By about two years old, a girl can perform all the same procedures, but on her own. Parents will only have to control the quality of their implementation.

Do not allow the girl to sit without panties on a chair, sofa, bed, in the cleanliness of the surface of which you are not 100% sure. Constantly explain that you need to touch the genitals as little as possible. This will minimize the risk of infection, the development of inflammatory processes of the mucous membrane.

At about 3-4 years old, you can teach a girl to use toilet paper. At the same age, start telling the baby that she must take care of herself, her body, teeth, nails, hair, in order to always remain beautiful.

Care and hygiene for a newborn girl is a very important issue. The future health of the baby will depend on the implementation of all these procedures, so you should take hygiene as seriously as possible.