Doctors recommend ironing the diapers until the navel heals, on average, the first two weeks of the child's life, in order to avoid infection of the baby's open wound.
Why the diapers are ironed
In many countries around the world, ironing laundry is considered unhealthy. Americans believe that ironed fabric does not absorb well the fumes that a sleeping baby emits during the night. However, in the first days of his life, a child should be more careful about bacteria and viruses, because his immunity has not yet been formed properly.
If in the hospital the baby was vaccinated with BCG, then by the end of the first month of life it sometimes becomes inflamed. During this period, it is advisable to resume ironing the diapers.
Once in an aggressive environment, a newborn baby should be protected from contact with strangers and contaminated places. It will only take a couple of months, and the need to boil pacifiers, disinfect bathing water and iron all children's things will disappear. Moreover, many pediatricians believe that excessive cleanliness can harm a child, preventing him from forming the body's natural defense mechanisms.
Do not forget to disinfect the baby's bathing water with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
How diapers are ironed
If you do not wash the diapers in an automatic washing machine at 90 ° C, iron them for additional disinfection of the fabric. In addition, it is widely believed that diapers that are ironed after washing last longer. After ironing, baby diapers become softer and have a pleasant smell. Cotton and flannel diapers are ironed on both sides with a maximally heated iron, and chintz diapers are ironed on the front side. It should be borne in mind that dried chintz can be moistened with water during ironing.
How long does the diaper need to be ironed
It is useless to iron the diaper in advance. It is better to ask your family to iron all the diapers while you are in the hospital with your baby. When swaddling a baby in the first days of his life, pay attention that there are no folds of tissue on the umbilical wound, so that the diaper is well straightened. If the baby gets dirty, the diaper must be changed immediately, not so much because of the possibility of irritation on the skin, but because of the possibility of infection of the open wound of the healing umbilical cord.
10-14 days after birth, the umbilical wound will heal. From this time on, ironing of diapers, both on both sides and on one side, can be excluded. From three to six months, your child will receive comprehensive vaccinations against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and polio. On the day of vaccination, make sure your clothes and bedding are clean. They will need to be ironed on both sides, in case of contamination, immediately change.
