Its Vernix, Baby
Imagine your baby being placed in your arms for the very first time. You look down to finally see who this little person is, and its completely covered in globs of white stuff. It may not seem like it, but you are witnessing another magical part of pregnancy and birth. What if I told you that the white stuff is actually very beneficial and has been protecting your baby’s delicate skin all this time, and will continue to do so after birth? CRAZY RIGHT?! It is called Vernix Caseosa.
Baby Aurelia who had vernix all over! I had to remove the towels and begin to rub in the vernix before someone could rub it off.
Vernix is a greasy, cheese like substance that begins to develop around week 17 of pregnancy. It is produced by the sebaceous glands (a tiny gland in the skin that helps lubricates hair in mammals), and is composed of water, lipids, proteins, and enzymes that have antibacterial properties!
So what does it do exactly?
While your baby or babies are in utero, vernix protects their developing skin from some of the more damaging components of the amniotic fluid. It also helps with thermoregulation. And during the birth, it acts as a lubricant.
Vernix bum on baby Oceana.
BUT if you have witnessed birth before, you might notice any vernix left on the baby being rubbed off. I get it, most people envision a clean, soft looking baby being placed in their arms, with lovely little fingers to touch and grasp onto your own. However, that vernix is still serving a purpose to protect baby outside of the womb. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests rubbing it into the baby’s skin and waiting at least 6 hours (but ideally after 24 hours) to give the baby a bath. Rubbing the vernix into the baby’s skin like a lotion, is like rubbing them down with highly moisturizing, antioxidant rich, antibacterial cream that you need a prescription for. But this time, its free, and YOUR baby made it themselves!
Lets change the way we look at vernix (and maybe see if we can steal some from baby and bottle it for later use)!
Please share your experience about vernix! And show us those vernix covered babies!*