# Vernix: leave it or clean it



## its_our_family (Sep 8, 2002)

I had actually never heard it was beneficial to leave the vernix there. I guess I've just always thought that baby gets a bath after birth to get the junk off.

So, what are the benefits and where can I find info?


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## pamamidwife (May 7, 2003)

Newborn skin is so sensitive and vernix was created to protect your baby's skin. Why would it be harmful after the birth?

I say leave it and rub it in. It absorbs quickly and will leave your baby's skin soft. I don't even freak out if it gets on me - I usually just rub it in my own skin in that instance. It's not meconium or anything!

I tend to think of a newborn's skin like when we have skin that peels off and we're left with that new layer of skin that is so sensitive to touch, etc. They're basically under assault in so many ways - light, voices, cold, touch - that this is one thing that we can do to help them.


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## its_our_family (Sep 8, 2002)

Thanks! Thats what I needed to hear. My doula rubs it in on her kids but I had never herd of leaving it!


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## momto l&a (Jul 31, 2002)

My 2 have never had it but if they did I would leave it as my mw has always suggested never washing the baby for at least a week. The reason being is there is some type of a protectant on the skin.


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## tinyshoes (Mar 6, 2002)

I think it's silly to bathe babies after birth if they're 'clean' (i.e., not covered in meconium or something!)

My hb mws said that vernix can "cause the skin to degrade" if it's left on--I think they meant it would cause chafing or something, left to rub in those little thigh creveses and so on...so we just gently rubbed the vernix into baby's skin/rubbed it off.


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## Missgrl (Nov 18, 2001)

I don't anything about it medically, but I say if nature
has it on in the womb then it should be left on out of the
womb!


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## ja mama (Sep 6, 2003)

And an added bonus you don't expect is how much the smell is tied in to you. Baby's operate so much on smell at first and to take a way the natural smell and replace it with a soap smell isn't good for them or you. No one ever told me how good a newborn baby smells. I totally believe it is the best smell in the world. Just rub it in, massage the baby all over and think how much better that feels than being washed and then dried with a towel.


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