If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it is a common belief system, even among parents. This causes them to make parenting choices that may have been passed down to them. But sometimes, things are broken and need to be fixed. This includes practices such as bathing babies in the kitchen sink.
One pediatrician broke down the reason why this is not only an outdated idea but also bad for baby’s health. Hopefully, this opens people’s eyes and changes their minds about this old-school parenting choice.
The doctor was sharing a recent case she worked on.
Beachgem10, a TikTok user, pediatric emergency doctor, and mom of four, used a child she cared for recently to illustrate her point. “I had a 3-week-old baby present with a fever. He also had some fussiness and poor feeding,” she begins in her video.
“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,” she explains in the video. “I got a call from microbiology saying, ‘Hey, his blood culture is positive. He’s growing, it looks like salmonella.'”
@beachgem10 Kitchen sink baby baths pose unique hazards to newborns and young infants #salmonella #pregnant #newborn #bath #bathtime #baby #emergency ♬ original sound – Beachgem10
She knew there was a possible culprit.
After learning this information, she went back to the child’s parents. She began asking them questions about how the baby could possibly have salmonella. Soon, she learned that they bathe their baby in the kitchen sink.
“Do you guys prep chicken around the kitchen sink?” she asked. Although they answered yes, they assured her that the area has been disinfected.
The doctor explains in her TikTok that disinfecting isn’t enough. “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,” she shares.
The doctor detailed many reasons kitchen sink baths are a poor idea.
“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,” she continues in the clip.
Other things are a risk too, including temperature. She explains that babies can turn on the faucet, burning themselves. Instead of using the sink, she suggested parents use a small baby tub.
“No matter where they take a bath, they should never be alone even for a second. They need your full, undivided attention,” she reminds us in the video.
People had mixed reactions to the advice.
“Louder for the boomer parents in the back who will say ‘i bathed you in the kitchen sink and you turned out fine,'” one person wrote.
“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.”
Another person wrote, “I’ve always thought putting your baby in the sink was nassssty like whyyyyy.”
“I bathed mine in the sink just fine. Just wash your sink like you would a tub. What am I missing?” another commenter asked.
