Caution: Slippery When Wet–Newborn Baby Bath Safety
Simple bath-time safety measures from Pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Shu
It’s hard to miss the fact that babies are slippery when wet, much less ignore the occasional evening news story about an infant or child being unintentionally scalded or drowning unattended in mere inches of water. The good news is that most childhood injuries in general are preventable, and those related to bathing are no exception. Here are a few simple but extremely important bath-time safety measures that will keep you and your baby from getting in over your heads.
• It’s a matter of degree. The ideal bath water temperature is thought to be somewhere between 95°F and 100°F, while water warmer than 105°F is considered to be too hot and cooler than 90°F, too cold. In contrast, many water heaters are installed at 140°F to 150°F. At 140°F, it only takes 3 seconds for a child to get a third-degree burn. Pay a quick visit to your water heater and make sure that the upper temperature limit is set no higher than 120°F—a temperature at which you should be able to hold your hand under a running stream of hot water without getting burned.
• Fill ‘er up first. Run the bath water first. Turn off the water, and then put your baby in it. Having water flowing directly into the tub when your baby is already in it is an unnecessary risk because the temperature of running water can be inconsistent and hot water controls can be bumped.
• Know what your baby’s getting into. Make it a habit to always test your baby’s bath water on your own skin (preferably on a more sensitive area such as your wrist or elbow) before putting your baby in it. That way you’ll be sure to know exactly what you’re both getting into.
• Please give your undivided attention. Regardless of how much or how little water you have in your newborn’s bath tub, you’ll need to offer him at least one hand of support at all times and ideally keep two eyes focused on the task at hand.
About Dr. Jennifer Shu
Jennifer Shu, MD, is a pediatrician, author and mother in Atlanta. Her passion is educating parents on all topics relating to children. Dr. Shu is editor-in-chief of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Baby & Child Health and co-author of the award-winning books Heading Home with Your Newborn and Food Fights, both published by the AAP.
An enthusiastic and experienced writer and public speaker, Dr. Shu is a medical expert on CNNHealth.com, a member of the Parents magazine Board of Advisors and an editorial advisor for the AAP’s Healthy Children doctor’s office publication. She has been featured as a guest expert on CNN, NBC Nightly News, Headline News, MSNBC and Discovery Health, as well as in Newsweek, US News & World Report, USA Today, US Weekly, and numerous parenting magazines, newspapers and medical publications.
Dr. Shu received her bachelor’s degree at the University of Virginia and her medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Shu completed her pediatric training and chief residency at the University of California in San Francisco. She has been a leader within the medical profession as a past national chairperson of the young physicians sections for both the American Medical Association (AMA) and the AAP.
Tags: Baby, bath time, Infant Safety, mothers, parents