Fetal Fat

Skincare for newborns is essential from the moment your baby meets the world. Fortunately, nature has ensured that your baby's newborn skin has the best conditions for a great start, as most babies are born with fetus fat, which assures protection of your baby's largest organ - the skin. How amazing is that! 

The amount of fetal fat varies from baby to baby. Some babies are born with little fetal fat, for instance, in between the folds of the newborn skin, whereas others are born covered from head to toe. The amount of fetal fat can vary depending on how close to the due date the baby is born. Babies born a couple of weeks before the due date often have more fetal fat, whereas babies born days after the due date can come out almost without any.
The essential purpose of fetal fat is to protect your newborn’s skin. Initially, it protects the skin from getting dry while lying in water inside the belly. After birth, fetal fat protects the skin while adapting to the environment outside the belly, as the watery surroundings exchange with the dry air outside the belly.

Let the first bath wait

We recommend you wait to bathe your baby for the first time until the newborn skin has absorbed the fetal fat. If there are areas with more fetal fat than others, the new skin can benefit from you spreading it to the drier areas to ensure an even layer of moisture. 

Besides letting the skin absorb the fetal fat, it is recommended to await the first bath until the remainder of the umbilical cord has dried out and fallen off. This often happens around the same time as the fetal fat is absorbed into the skin, all by itself.