While expecting a child, many mothers try to learn as much as possible about pregnancy and childbirth, believing that the most difficult thing is giving life to a new person. In movies, everything ends with a wedding, but in life, everything just begins with a wedding. It’s the same with motherhood: with the birth of a child, the fun begins. A young mother needs to accomplish so much in a day! And here it is important to properly distribute your time and energy. We will tell you about how to properly organize care for a newborn girl, what to pay attention to, in which cases to seek qualified help, and in which cases not to panic and just wait for time. This information will be useful not only to mothers of first-borns, but also to those who have their first baby in the family.
In the first days
During the first time after birth, a light gray or creamy coating - remnants of smegma, the original lubricant. If there is not a lot of plaque, it will gradually be absorbed into the skin. However, if the plaque is abundant, it is recommended to remove it, since after a day or two the fats it contains oxidize, causing the proliferation of microorganisms and, ultimately, inflammation. This plaque is quite dense, so it needs to be removed delicately, in several steps. It is best to use cotton swabs and warm boiled water for this. The plaque will be removed in pellets and will completely disappear in 2-3 days.
How to properly wash a newborn baby girl
The girl needs to be washed every time she changes her diaper, and simple wiping with wet wipes is unacceptable here. You can remove feces with napkins, after which you should definitely rinse the perineum under running water. Mom, of course, needs to wash her hands with soap before doing this. In the first months of life, it is advisable to rinse a girl’s genitals in the direction of the anus, so that feces particles do not enter the vagina and cause inflammation. For the same reasons, it is impossible to wash the girl in the basin after defecation. Older girls are washed as follows: first, they soap and rinse the anal area (from the bottom up, towards the tailbone; a stream of water is directed into the palm), then they wash their hands again and wash the external genitalia without soap (from the perineum to the pubis, without touching the anus ).
| This is important to know! Your excessive attachment to cleanliness may come back to haunt your daughter with synechiae - partial fusion of the labia minora, which most often occurs due to the fact that soap injures the thin mucous membrane of the girl’s genitals and causes an inflammatory process. |
Caring for a newborn girl after washing is performed in the following sequence: first, blot the genital area dry with a clean towel, then the labia and the skin around them, the inguinal folds, and only then the anus area. At this age, the skin and mucous membranes are dry and easily wounded, so they must be moisturized with baby cream or sterilized vegetable oil. Never wipe the inside of the labia, as this can disrupt the vaginal microflora and lead to genitourinary infections.
| This is important to know! On days 4–7 of life, a newborn daughter may experience mucous-bloody discharge from the vagina. This is how the hormones she received from you make themselves known. This phenomenon is called neonatal hormonal crisis , does not require treatment and goes away on its own within a few days. However, if the genitals are red, and the vaginal discharge is purulent and has an unpleasant odor, contact your pediatrician immediately! With the exception of a hormonal crisis, girls of this age should not normally have vaginal discharge. If any discharge appears, contact your pediatrician (pediatrician or pediatric gynecologist) without delay. |
Sodium tetraborate: definition and composition
Sodium tetraborate is a derivative of boric acid. Simply put, it is borax (a salt that is formed as a result of the interaction of boric acid and sodium) enclosed in glycerin. The drug is sold in the form of a solution, bottled in tinted glass bottles with a capacity of 30 ml. The composition of the drug is 20% borax and 80% glycerin.
The main properties of sodium tetraborate are antiseptic and bacteriostatic. The use of the drug helps to destroy the Candida fungus. In addition, the product prevents the attachment of the fungus to the child’s oral mucosa and at the same time destroys the cell membrane of the pathogenic flora. At the same time, glycerin, which is part of the drug, is aimed at enhancing the effect of borax and at the same time softening the mucous membranes.
It is worth knowing that throughout the world the use of sodium tetraborate for newborns is not approved, since the drug is considered to be quite toxic. However, in practice, if the recommendations for safe use are followed, the use of borax is effective and does not cause problems.
Important: the use of sodium tetraborate should be prescribed exclusively by the treating pediatrician. Self-administration of any medications to an infant is strictly prohibited.
Bathing
- You can bathe a newborn girl as soon as the umbilical wound dries. Up to six months, baths should be daily, then you can bathe the baby every other day, and when she reaches a year, even less often, replacing bath procedures with showers.
- You should carefully wash all the folds and spaces between your fingers and toes.
- It is recommended to use soap (not toilet soap, but a special one for children, with a minimum amount of additives!) or baby foam no more than 1-2 times a week, and do not add it to water, but apply it to the skin and wash it off with a shower. Soapy water dries out the vaginal mucosa. There is an opinion that until the moment the child begins to crawl on the floor (i.e., until the moment when he can really get dirty) or until the moment when the baby begins to eat complementary foods (i.e., smearing porridge on his face with his hands or puree) - there is no point in washing it with soap, because the child does not get dirty with anything and is constantly either in the arms of his parents or in a clean crib. And once again disturbing his skin with soap products is not only pointless, but also harmful - the protective layer of the skin is washed off. But, firstly, daily bathing in clean water is still necessary, and secondly, this does not exclude washing the child with soap after he pooped.
- Adding various herbal infusions to the bath is at your discretion. However, it must be borne in mind that almost all of them dry out the already dry skin of babies. At the end of winter and spring in cities, an increased amount of chlorine is added to the central water supply, which greatly dries out the skin of children during daily bathing. In this case, it is recommended to add special softeners to the bathing water, for example, calendula bathing agent (Weleda has this). And after bathing, lubricate the baby’s skin with baby oil.
- A newborn girl should use her own, purely individual, bathing set: towel, washcloth and mitten. By the way, you can wash the baby with a piece of gauze instead of a washcloth, since it can be washed and boiled.
- After bathing, the newborn girl is blotted dry with a clean towel or warm sheet, and the skin folds, if necessary, are treated with baby hygienic oil.
Indications for use
Composition and instructions for use of Sebozol shampoo
The instructions for use of the drug state that it can be prescribed in the following cases:
- Oral candidiasis in infants (thrush/stomatitis);
- Vaginal candidiasis and colpitis;
- Fungal infections of the throat and sore throat;
- Diaper rash on the skin, bedsores, cracks in the skin.
Ear care
Contrary to popular belief, sulfur is not dirt, but a means of protecting the body. It has bactericidal properties and protects the ear canal from drying out, dust, wind and water. Therefore, do not be zealous in removing it. The maximum that is allowed is to carefully remove with a cotton wool the wax that is in the visible zone, that is, it has come out of the ear canal into the auricle. Each ear has a separate flagellum. Do not use cotton swabs under any circumstances, do not penetrate the swab into the ear canal - this can lead to the pushing of sulfur deeper and the formation of cerumen plugs.
During bathing, the ears are carefully washed with water. If water gets into them, simply blot your ears with a towel. The main thing is to make sure that there are no drafts in the room.
The skin behind the ears requires special attention. Rinse it during bathing and lubricate it with baby oil, especially if there are crusts. Decoctions of skin-soothing herbs and creams with zinc oxide help with diaper rash.
| This is important to know! If erosion occurs at the site of diaper rash, be sure to consult your pediatrician. Incorrect treatment in this case can result in unpleasant consequences for the baby. |
Possible adverse reactions
It is worth understanding that when using borax in the treatment of thrush in newborns, the following adverse reactions may occur:
- Moderate redness in areas where the mucous membrane was treated with the drug;
- Burning and itching;
- Swelling in the form of an allergic reaction;
- Rash.
In case of an overdose of the drug, the baby may experience the following reactions:
- Abdominal pain;
- Vomiting, diarrhea;
- Weakness and cramps;
- Headache.
If the mother observes similar symptoms of overdose in the baby, it is necessary to take the newborn to the hospital as soon as possible for detoxification procedures. In this case, the baby will undergo gastric and intestinal lavage, as well as IV drips to restore water and electrolyte balance.
Instructions for the use of Taktivin injections and analogues
To prevent the risk of overdose, it is recommended to use the drug in newborns for no more than seven days and only in minimal doses. If, during treatment with sodium tetraborate, the baby’s thrush does not go away within a week, it is advisable to contact the pediatrician again to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe a new treatment.
Important: it is strictly forbidden to use borax in combination with drugs based on clotrimazole and other antifungal components. It is also prohibited to use boric acid with corticosteroids and phenol.
Nasal care
It is necessary to carefully ensure that snot and crusts do not accumulate in the girl’s nose and that she has the opportunity to breathe fully. Therefore, you need to clean your baby’s nose, if it is filled with crusts, every day. The crusts are pre-softened using sterile vegetable oil. To clean the nose, it is preferable not to use store-bought cotton swabs: those with a limiter will not be able to penetrate to the required depth, and without limiters you risk damaging the baby’s nasal mucosa. Prepare small flagella (“turundas”) from cotton pads and, carefully inserting them into the nostrils, clean out the contents of the nose with gentle rotational movements. It is better not to use children's nasal aspirators, because... with frequent use, you can damage the nasal mucosa and disrupt its microflora. In addition, there is an opinion among experts that the recently noted earlier appearance of adenoids in children, the proliferation of the nasal mucosa, is also a consequence of too zealous care of the nasal mucosa by parents (frequent use of aspirators, nasal sprays, etc.) .
Drug analogues
In order to have a less toxic effect on the baby’s body, other drugs can be used to treat thrush. Especially if it occurs in a mild form in the baby. To do this, use simple baking soda or sodium carbonate. Prepare a soda solution from one teaspoon of soda and a glass of boiling water. The cooled solution is used to treat the baby’s oral mucosa according to the above scheme.
Tip: before each breastfeeding, it is recommended to treat the nipples of the nursing mother. If the baby is bottle-fed, then pacifiers and bottles are also treated with a soda solution before feeding.
And in order not to use toxic sodium tetraborate for thrush in children over one year of age, it is advisable to monitor the prevention of oral candidiasis in the baby. That is, keep the baby and his pacifiers/pacifiers/toys clean, trim his fingernails in a timely manner and be sure to wash the nipples before each feeding. After each feeding, it is advisable to give the baby one or two teaspoons of boiled water to wash away the remaining milk in the mouth and prevent it from fermenting.
It is worth remembering that it is always easier to prevent a disease than to fight it later. Moreover, the baby’s body is still so weak and cannot resist the influence of external aggressive factors.
