Help! My Newborn Has Pimples!
What Happened To My Perfect Angel?
When we become parents, the first thing we do is to make sure that all of the fingers and toes are present and accounted for. After that, we bask in the beauty of their perfect little pink faces, knowing that, undoubtedly, it is the most beautiful baby to have ever been born. Sadly, though, many babies have infant acne, the symptoms usually showing up around three weeks after birth. Some babies even have infant acne right at birth.
Should I Be Alarmed?
The rash that develops on the face of your baby will likely be very upsetting for new time parents. It is very common and in most cases, it will disappear within a few days or weeks. In some cases, though, there can be scarring and this does not go away so easily. The infant acne is something that can be recurring until they are around six months of age.
Though it is probably not a big deal or cause for concern, it is still a good idea to talk with the baby’s doctor about the acne problem. Since it is caused from the transfer of hormones form the mother to baby through the placenta at birth, it is best to keep it monitored to ensure there are no other effects of the mother’s hormones in the baby’s body.
It is not a good idea to clean the baby’s skin too frequently to try and rid the acne problem. As it is caused from hormones and not from dirt and oils, all the over cleaning will do is to dry out the skin. In fact, the acne is likely baby’s way of ridding the skin from unwanted hormones, which is probably a really good thing.
Okay, So What Can I Do?
One thing that can help is to clean up any spills of milk or spit-up from the baby’s skin as soon as they occur. These can both worsen the infant acne. The clean up should be done with a mild baby-formulated detergent. The baby’s clothing and bedding can irritate the acne rash if they are cleaned in too strong a detergent. Therefore, it is a good idea to wash the baby’s things in a mild detergent that is made for infants.
The best thing to do about the situation is to relax and be calm. The acne may look unsightly, causing heartaches in new parents, but if treated properly, rest assured, baby’s face will return to it’s normal angelic state in no time at all. Relax and know that even the sight of an acne all over your precious child’s face will not dampen the mood when you see her smile for the first time.