According to Stanford Children’s Health, drowning is the 3rd leading cause of death for children one year and younger. For new parents, the most surprising aspect of this statistic is the fact that the majority of these drowning incidents happened in the bathtub. Unfortunately, there are other dangers and risks to your child’s health during a bathing session. So what can you do to help keep your baby safe? Below you will find a few tips for newborn bath safety.

Get a Grip

As you know, babies tend to lack the coordination and motor skills to control their bodies. As a result, it is difficult for them to maintain a particular position. Therefore, in the interest of newborn bath safety, it is advisable to keep at least one hand on the baby at all times. Additionally, infants are particularly slippery when wet which can be a cause of a fall or drop accident. Similarly, head injuries can often be the result of a child moving unexpectedly from sliding around in the bath.

Keep Your Head Above Water

Well, maybe not your head as much as your baby’s. While it may seem obvious that your child’s head should never go under the water, the reason it made our newborn bath safety tips list is because it is easier than you think for this to happen. All it takes is a split second of not paying attention, and your kid’s face could be under water. Another common mistake that can be made is washing your newborn’s face with soap and then trying to rinse it off. The water running over their face can easily be aspirated leading to a life or death situation.

Getting Dried Off

When drying of a baby after a bath, it is not uncommon to place them on an elevated surface. Falls from these distances can result in serious injury or even death. Therefore, our final newborn bath safety tip is to never leave your baby on a changing table or high surface after a bath. If you need something from the other room or need to turn away from where the baby is laying, then take them with you. It is not worth the risk to leave them unattended even for a second.