7 essential steps to expertly care for your baby’s skin

Whilst there really is nothing better for your baby’s skin than you, we do appreciate that sometimes there’s no other option than needing to clean your baby’s skin. Washing and cleaning your baby can cause disruption to their microbiome, so keeping this to a minimum, using only the most gentle, products available and doing skin-to-skin contact as part of their regular routine can help baby continue to develop their microbiome.
To help new parents give their baby’s skin the best start in life possible, our expert midwives have created 7 steps to follow, from pregnancy and beyond:
1. Prepare to have skin-to-skin contact with your baby at birth by writing this in your birth plan- remember to tell the midwife caring for you in labour your plan
2. Have skin-to-skin straight after the birth to encourage their skin flora and microbiome to develop (your partner can do this too) this helps to protect your baby’s skin
3. The first few days- use a bowl of water to clean your baby’s face and bottom (top and tail)- this should be enough to keep their face, neck and bottom clean
4. The first few weeks- bath your baby a maximum of 2-3 times a week unless visibly dirty- this will help to protect and keep their skin in optimal condition
5. Always use the mildest wash and moisturise after bathing to keep skin healthy and hydrated- this is because a baby’s skin is more prone to drying out
6. Protect your baby’s skin by having daily skin-to-skin contact as often as possible- this helps to populate your baby’s naturally developing skin flora and develop their microbiome.
7. After 3 months you can start to use carefully selected essential oil blends to purposefully target baby skincare problems- carefully chosen to help baby skin problems