What is the white stuff on the newborn baby's body? What is the situation when the newborn baby's body is white?

We all know that when a baby is just born, the skin surface is white, and the whole body is white. This is a very common phenomenon and a relatively normal phenomenon. The white body of a newborn is because of the vernix caseosa, which is a white substance on the surface. Let's take a closer look!

What is the white stuff on a newborn baby?

When a baby is born, its body is covered with a white, oily substance and looks dirty. In fact, the substance on the baby's body is called "vernix caseosa".

We all know that unborn babies are immersed in amniotic fluid every day. In order to prevent the baby's skin from being directly irritated by the amniotic fluid, the baby's metabolites in the amniotic fluid will form a protective film on the skin. This film is the dirty thing everyone sees after the baby is born - vernix caseosa.

Newborns have just come into this strange world and have left the warm and safe environment of amniotic fluid, so they cannot quickly adapt to the low temperature environment outside. Vernix caseosa can effectively slow down the heat dissipation of the fetus, maintain its own body temperature, and prevent infection from external bacteria. Therefore, the existence of "vernix caseosa" makes sense.

Is more vernix better?

Some parents may wonder why the baby next door has vernix all over his body when he is born, but my baby only has vernix on his thighs? Is my baby in poor health? Not at all!

We know that vernix caseosa has a protective effect on the baby, but the amount of vernix caseosa is affected by the baby's body. If the mother provides enough nutrients to the baby every day before the baby is born, the baby's metabolic products in the amniotic fluid will increase, and the vernix caseosa will increase. If the mother provides less nutrients, the vernix caseosa will be less!

Vernix caseosa is usually found in large quantities on the back, interscapular area, neck, armpits, pubic region, etc. of newborns.

Do you need to wash off the vernix?

When many parents see their babies for the first time, they always think that the little guy is dirty and ugly, and they want to clean the baby. So, does the newborn baby need to be cleaned of the vernix? In fact, 1-2 hours after the baby is born, part of the vernix will be absorbed, and some will be rubbed off when wearing clothes, but there will inevitably be some on the body. The rest does not need to be "forced to be washed off", just let it slowly absorb and fall off naturally. After 1-2 days, you will find that the baby's body looks much cleaner. In fact, vernix is ​​the same as the "fetal scale" on the baby's fontanelle. You have to wait for it to fall off slowly and don't intervene artificially. When the "dirty things" on the baby's body are completely clean, mothers must take good care of the baby's skin, especially the sweaty areas and the little buttocks, to avoid redness, swelling, diaper rash, eczema, etc.