‘You need to stop bathing your newborn in the kitchen sink’
There are some places a baby is just not meant to be: behind the wheel of a car, for example.
And there are locations many babies have traditionally been, but it’s probably best not to continue to do so, like the kitchen sink.
“Newborns have zero immune system”
A pediatric doctor has gone viral on TikTok explaining the “unique hazards” of bathing babies in the kitchen sink..
Beachgem10 explained the story of a baby she recently encountered at her job in the emergency department.
“I had a three-week-old baby present with a fever. He also had some fussiness and poor feeding,” she began.
“Newborns have zero immune system, and so they get the full workout like every time. So blood, urine, and CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) to check for meningitis. We’re really looking for serious bacterial infections.”
While waiting for the youngster to be admitted, the doctor received an update.
“I got a call from microbiology saying, ‘Hey, his blood culture is positive. He’s growing, it looks like salmonella,’” she revealed.
So she returned to the parents with questions to try to gain an understanding of how that could be. After asking a few questions, the parents revealed that the baby takes baths in the kitchen sink.
She asked them, “Do you guys prep chicken around the kitchen sink?”
They answered yes; however, they explained that the area was disinfected.
“Even though the parents did their best to clean the sink before the baby got a bath, this is likely the source of exposure for the salmonella,” the doctor explained.
“In addition to the bacteria contamination potential, sinks can be very slippery, they also have faucets and levels that babies can hit themselves on, or slip in the water and hit themselves.”
Temperature also poses a risk.
“I’ve seen babies before that turned the water on, and it was hot water, and then they got burnt,” she shared.
The doctor recommends using a small infant bathtub to keep the baby clean.
“No matter where they take a bath, they should never be alone even for a second. They need your full, undivided attention,” she warned.
“Salmonella all over your sink”
Commenters were divided on the doctor’s advice.
Many agreed with the risk.
“This is exactly why I don’t trust people that say they wash their chicken. Like, oh great there’s salmonella all over your sink,” one viewer commented.
“Louder for the boomer parents in the back who will say ‘I bathed you in the kitchen sink and you turned out fine,’” another agreed.
“I’ve always thought putting your baby in the sink was nasty, like why?” a third shared.
Others didn’t see the harm.
“I bathed mine in the sink just fine. Just wash your sink like you would a tub. What am I missing?” one parent argued.
Another echoed, adding, “Do people not sanitize their sink after every use?”
