CASPER, Wyo.: Ashleigh Tieszen smiled at her newborn daughter in the small tub at the foot of her hospital bed. Her 3-year-old, Aubrey, helped rinse her baby sister.
Nursing assistant Kylee Gladson bundled the 1-day old Adaline in a light blanket before placing her in the special bathtub designed for newborns. She washed her arm, then a leg, rewrapping each limb before moving on to the next.
Aubrey dipped her hands in the warm water and gently rubbed the infant’s skin. The father, Johnathan Tieszen, grinned as he videoed Adaline’s first bath April 10 at Wyoming Medical Center with his phone.
The baby opened her eyes and looked around.
“She likes it,” Johnathan said.
Wyoming Medical Center in January started offering new swaddle bathing and delayed bathing routines for newborns in the Ruth R. Ellbogen Family, Mother and Baby Center, RN and clinical nursery educator Monica Money said. The hospital is among medical centers across the country adopting new bathing practices based on newborn care research.
When newborns are born, they emerge from the warm, dark, quiet environment of the womb into one of bright lights, cold and loud noises, RN and education coordinator for obstetrics Jennifer Gallagher said. Delaying bathing for eight to 24 hours and swaddle bathing helps keep them warm and comfortable to reduce stress, she said.
“Research has shown (delayed bathing) it’s better for the baby to have a good transition. It’s just better for their temperature stability. It allows more time with their family,” Gallagher said. “Babies do way better wrapped up than they do exposed to the elements. It helps regulate their breathing and their blood sugars, so it’s less of a physiologic transition.”
Wyoming Medical Center’s new tubs for swaddle bathing newborns cradle them for easy bathing and monitor the water temperature, Money said.
Delayed bathing for newborns who are sick or medically vulnerable is necessary, Money said. But now parents of healthy infants can choose delayed bathing at their convenience.
“At our hospital, it’s basically mom’s choice,” Money said. “Whenever she wants to do it is when we’ll do it.”
Delayed bathing for the recommended six to 24 hours has been available by request and now is being offered up front, according to information from the hospital. The practice is becoming more popular because of the benefits for babies and chance for families to participate.
Delayed bathing benefits even healthy newborns by helping them maintain body temperature and leaving on a coating called the vernix, which protects and moisturizes their skin, she said.
Leaving the vernix on longer allows it to absorb naturally in the skin rather than washing it away just after birth. It’s especially good for babies in Wyoming’s dry climate, Gallagher said. The vernix also contains good bacteria from the mother’s skin that helps establish the baby’s bacteria colony, Money said.
“There’s a lot of good things inside the amniotic fluid that get absorbed into the skin,” Money added.
Swaddling babies keeps them more comfortable, Money said. Newborns are still adjusting to life outside the womb, where they felt constant pressure against their bodies when they moved. They cry less often when swaddled for baths, which also helps parents feel less stressed and better able to learn how to bathe and care for their babies, she added.
Swaddle bathing can happen any time at any bath, Gallagher said. Along with delayed bathing, swaddle bathing helps prevent physiological stress.
Newborns bodies don’t yet have the ability to control temperature, so the environment around them must be regulated, Gallagher said. Both delayed bathing and swaddle bathing help keep newborns’ body temperatures stable, she said.
Money recently gave birth at Wyoming Medical Center and chose delayed bathing and a swaddle bath. Her family was there while she bathed the baby with a little help from the nurses, she said. She led the adoption of the new baby bathing practices at Wyoming Medical Center.
“It was important to me because I feel like it’s the best thing for babies,” Money said.
Gladson showed the family traces of the white vernix under Adaline’s arm. Then the CNA gently lathered and rinsed the spot. Aubrey continued patting her sister with small handfuls of the warm water and occasionally chiming in with a singsong chant about bath-time in the bathtub.
“She smells good,” the girl said as they finished their task.
“Good job, you’re an awesome big sister,” Gladson said.
Adaline was born at 9:50 p.m. April 9, and the parents waited until the next afternoon for her first bath. Her mom, dad, sister and grandmother were all there to learn and bond with the newborn.
“We might have to adopt the swaddle bath for the house,” Johnathan said.
Swaddle bathing is Gladson’s favorite part of her job, she said.
“It’s a lot of patient care, and you just get to see all of the families coming together and it’s just a super happy time in everybody’s life,” she said.
There are always necessary tasks like tests and blood draws that make the babies cry, but the new bathing method adds a pleasant experience, said Ashleigh, Adaline’s mom. Adaline fussed as she woke to Gladson carrying her to the bassinet to wrap her for the bath. She cried afterward as the CNA dressed her a new pink onesie and swaddled her again in a dry, fresh blanket.
But the newborn didn’t cry during her first bath like Aubrey and her 6-year-old brother had.
“It’s definitely a lot more calming and lot more relaxing and enjoyable for everybody,” Ashleigh said.
The parents requested delayed bathing for their two older children. Then, only Johnathan could be there while they were washed in the nursery, he said.
“It’s a lot more family-oriented too,” Johnathan said about the new practices. “They’re always taking the babies out of the room or somewhere else to do the bath. So dad can go with, but mom is in the room when they do the bath. So mom doesn’t usually get to participate in the first bath like this. This is much more special.”
A clean, warm Adaline soon lay nestled in her mother’s arms again and drifted back to sleep. AP
