Effects of Delayed Newborn Bathing on Breastfeeding, Hypothermia, and Hypoglycemia

Objective To determine whether delaying the newborn bath by 24 hours increases the prevalence of breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding at discharge in healthy full-term and late preterm newborns (34 0/7–36 6/7 weeks gestation) and to examine the effect of delayed newborn bathing on the incidences of hypothermia and hypoglycemia. Design Pre–post implementation, retrospective, cohort study. Setting Provincial children’s hospital with an average of 2,500 births per year. Participants Healthy newborns (N = 1,225) born at 34 0/7 weeks or more gestation who were admitted to the mother–baby unit. Methods We compared newborns who were bathed before 24 hours (n = 680, preimplementation group) to newborns who were bathed after 24 hours (n = 545, postimplementation group). Results After adjustment for confounders, the odds of exclusive breastfeeding at discharge were 33% greater in the postimplementation group than in the preimplementation group (adjusted odds ratio = 1.334; 95% confidence interval [1.049,1.698]; p = .019). Delayed bathing was associated with decreased incidence of hypothermia and hypoglycemia (p = .007 and p = .003, respectively). We observed no difference in breastfeeding initiation between groups. Conclusion Delaying the newborn bath for 24 hours was associated with an increased likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding at discharge and a decreased incidence of hypothermia and hypoglycemia in healthy newborns. The implementation of a delayed bathing policy has the potential to improve breastfeeding rates and reduce the incidence of hypothermia and hypoglycemia.