Hand washing etiquette for those handling baby - Page 2

[Friday13th]

DS was born in December and I never asked. People did for the first couple visits (at the hospital and right after we got home) and then it pretty much stopped. I'm awful about washing my hands so it's not something I'd ever think to ask someone else to do. He didn't get sick until almost his first birthday so I certainly don't think the germs hurt him.

[happyhearts]

This is a great question and I have been wondering the same thing. I think I will continue asking people to was/sanitize until the baby is 6 month. Then it will be Spring and not as much illness and her immunity will be stronger.

[Ldavis24]

We never asked people to wash their hands but we did have a huge bottle of hand sanitizer sitting in the living room that we asked people to use before they touched baby for about the first 2 weeks...

Now that DD is 7 months old guess what, that hand sanitizer is sitting in the bathroom barely a quarter empty because we quit that pretty fast. As far as hand washing goes we really don't make a fuss unless we were just in a really public place like an elementary school or something. At this point I have given up on the fight against germs and accept that she will get sick and so will all of us in our little family.
My only rule is that no one who is sick already can pick up or touch baby!

[jammomma]

I ask everyone that enters our home to wash their hands and remove their shoes. Hand washing is just part of proper hygiene imo, and if anyone is offended by my asking, i really don't care. My DS is 6 1/2 months if it matters.

We never use hand sanitizer, I trust just plain old soap and water.

Whenever we come home from the store, or anywhere we always wash our hands, so I don't think it's a big deal to ask other people to do it.

Often times it seems like it is the only time some of our houseguests will actually wash their hands, in particular I have noticed that neither of my FIL's wash up after going to the bathroom. Totally gross and improper. Thankfully they rarely visit.

Incidently, no one at my house has even had so much as a cold in a few years. (*knocks on wood and goes to wash my hands*)

[mamazee]

This is not something I worry about.

[Drummer's Wife]

Don't recall asking people to wash their hands...

eta: and my babies didn't get sick until they were each almost a year old. Well, my fourth might have been congested a bit around 6 mos., but otherwise they were super healthy - not even ear infections.

I do understand being concerned, and I wouldn't want someone with yucky stuff on their hands touching my baby's face or anything, but I don't know that I would enforce a hand-washing rule for visitors.

oh, and since you mentioned your ped making this recommendation, it reminded me that medical people can be the worst offenders! It did bug me when docs/nurses would come into the hospital room and not wash their hands before handling me or my newborn, or between procedures. I've noticed the same at ped visits, and urgent care. Sure, maybe they washed their hands not long before coming in, but with so many germs in a hospital setting, I would prefer to see it myself!

[Mulvah]

Originally Posted by ShadowMoon

I never insisted on people washing/sanitizing their hands before handling the baby. But that's just me.

I would say if it makes you comfortable asking people to wash their hands before holding your babe, so be it. It wouldn't hurt, and I wouldn't be offended if a mamma requested I wash up before reaching for her baby.

[MamaPhD]

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl

I never insisted on handwashing personally. My family is huge and when we have gatherings the baby gets passed around. I am much more concerned that the people holding him be sober...not always easy actually.

Every time your babe gets sick it strengthens their immune system. I guess I just hope that his sicknesses remain minor. After all if someone is sick they are still going to breathe on the kid and there is nothing you can do about that.

Ah, actually, this is not entirely true. Baby's immune system needs to get matured first before they can develop immunity against germs, and that takes many months. Newborns and young babies get sick then they suffer with no immunological benefits.

As far as feeling like you letting sick person breath on your young baby - it's pretty simple. Just ask, hey, you seem sick and contagious, why don't I hold the baby to spare the little one unneccessary suffering. Any reasonable person (family or otherwise) should be able to understand that.

[darcytrue]

I haven't insisted on handwashing with my baby so far and she's 3.5 months old. However, she did just get over a cold recently and lots of other people we visited came down with a cold as well over the Christmas holiday so I'm guessing that's where she got it, although hardly anyone held her. Perhaps she got something through the air, I don't know.

[pumpkinhead]

Originally Posted by MamaPhD

Ah, actually, this is not entirely true. Baby's immune system needs to get matured first before they can develop immunity against germs, and that takes many months. Newborns and young babies get sick then they suffer with no immunological benefits.

As far as feeling like you letting sick person breath on your young baby - it's pretty simple. Just ask, hey, you seem sick and contagious, why don't I hold the baby to spare the little one unneccessary suffering. Any reasonable person (family or otherwise) should be able to understand that.

This isn't entirely true either. Plenty of infants can and do seroconvert after illnesses. If they didn't, we wouldn't start vaccinating babies until after their 1st birthday but many countries start at birth. I don't mean to start a vaccine debate, but if you take the "science of vaccines" at face value (which I don't necessarily nor do I expect anyone else to, but I digress), then it wouldn't make any sense to vaccinate a child before the age of 1 or 2 if what you wrote were true.

Regardless, I didn't ever ask anyone to wash their hands before holding either of mine. If they'd been premature, I probably would have considered it, but they weren't. The way I look at it is that they're better protected during those first 2-3 weeks when they still have circulating antibodies (passive immunity) from the colostrum than they will be after until much later, so I don't worry too much in those early weeks. After that, I'm much too sleep deprived to remember to comb my own hair, so I didn't remember to ask anyone to wash their hands unless they belong to a child and they were obviously dirty.

I don't think there's anything wrong with asking someone to wash their hands before holding your babe and I think that if it makes you feel more comfortable, you should go with your gut and don't stop asking until it feels right for you .

[ourdayourjourney]

when my little one was a newborn, i would ask family to wash there hands and some look at me like i have 3 heads. my philosophy is "my baby, my rules," but i don't say that to them. i just ask them before i hand over my baby and at family gatherings i just make an announcement when we come in. and before i take the baby back from them, i'll make it a point to say that i'm going to go wash my hands before i take the baby back from them.

i will say that my little one was sick for 2 months with something viral from halloween to days before christmas. family was more than happy to wash up. now that we have a lot going on with him , it is so important we keep him illness-free and i think everyone wants what is best for him and graciously gives him that extra protection by washing their hands.

[Asiago]

Thank you all for so much feedback
I have decided to continue to ask people to wash hands, if I am here on MDC asking this very question, then it likely signals I am not ready to stop requesting people to wash hands.

At this age (11 weeks) his immunoglobulin development, the main defense of his immune system, has just begun to make it's own antibodies. As much as I believe in my breastmilk's ability to transfer antibodies, I would feel a lot more comfortable waiting for his own immune system to develop the immunoglobulins so that it can fight viruses and bacteria. Right now it's really just begun to develeop those. I've found conflicting info pertaining to when IgG, IgM and IgA are fully functional, I see anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, so that bugs me a bit on which side to err.
The more I think about it, and read the nature of the way it develops, I'd better continue to ask people to wash, even if it's for my own peace of mind.


Thank you all so much for your replies!