How long do you need to iron clothes (diapers) for a newborn? And do I need to iron them?

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After a baby is born, a young mother’s day can be scheduled in minutes: she needs to not only ensure proper care for the baby, which requires constant attention, but also to remake a lot of homework in between breakdown times (do the cleaning, cook food, wash and iron clothes).

Is it necessary to iron the diapers and things of a newborn baby? Is this not a waste of time and energy, which is already lacking?

Arguments against ironing

Opinions regarding the necessity of ironing diapers are mixed even among experienced pediatricians. There is a large category of specialists who are convinced that excessive disinfection of everything with which the baby comes in contact is not only unnecessary, but also harmful to him, because:

Microorganisms that are inevitably present in our environment make the young organism fight infectious agents, thereby creating the effect of natural vaccination;
Ironed clothes partially lose their ability to absorb moisture and may cause prickly heat or irritation of delicate infant skin.

As for the healing of the umbilical wound - the main argument in favor of the need to iron the diapers - this part of the pediatricians believes that it is not so much the sterility of the diapers that is important as the timeliness and correct treatment of the wound itself (see how to properly process the umbilical wound).

Arguments for ironing

An equally numerous category of specialists insists that the clothes of the newborn must be ironed, but only until the navel is completely healed. It's related:

With weakness of the infant immune system. During the first month of life, the baby needs protection from all kinds of bacteria. Even if the baby’s laundry is constantly washed in very hot (up to 90 degrees) water, then during drying on the balcony or battery the germs still get on the fabric. A hot iron and a steaming system effectively destroy all microorganisms and disinfect children's clothing;
In the process of ironing, the residual detergents are neutralized, which can provoke an allergic reaction in the baby;
Steaming and ironing can soften the natural fabric. The same thing happens with the seams: softened, they do not rub the delicate baby skin.
Ironed diapers will last longer;
Well-ironed things look aesthetically pleasing, which is important when visiting the clinic or during the visit of the mother-in-law 🙂: the baby dressed in them will look more attractive and well-groomed.

Popular questions:

How long does it take to iron a child? - pediatricians are advised to iron before healing the umbilical wound.

Do I need to iron the diaper of the newborn from two sides? - In fact, this is a waste of time. Ironing things is recommended on the one hand - the inside, which is in contact with the skin of the child.

READ ALSO: how and how to wash things for a newborn

Secrets of proper ironing

In order not to scorch children's clothing and not to switch the iron every minute, before starting ironing things should be sorted by type of fabric. Having set the iron regulator to the minimum value, first they begin to iron clothes made of delicate materials (for example, silk), gradually moving to chintz, cotton and flannel;
For the manufacture of diapers using flannel and cotton. These fabrics need to be steamed and ironed at a high (190-200 degrees) temperature. Dry tissue should be sprayed from the spray bottle and set aside for five minutes, allowing it to “move away". Even with a modern iron with a powerful steam system, iron diapers on both sides. This is not done at all in order to destroy the bacteria (the steaming mode will destroy them even with one-sided ironing). This is necessary for optimal alignment of the cotton fiber structure;
For products from chintz, one-sided ironing and a lower (150 degrees) temperature of the iron are required. Ironing on the front side will give the fabric a glossy shine, and on the inside - dullness. Dried chintz needs additional moisture, even if the steam function is used during ironing.

Little tricks

It is better to moisten dry diapers with warm water poured into the spray bottle. Such water is absorbed faster and softens the fabric much better.
Baby things can be ironed only on the side that comes in contact with the skin of the crumbs: this saves both time and mother’s strength.
By adjusting the height of the ironing board to fit your own height, mom will be able to reduce the load on the muscles of her arms and back.
An ideal iron should have a comfortable handle, a spray and steam system, and not very heavy weight.
Before ironing, make sure that the ironing surface and the steam leaving the iron are clean. For distillation, only distilled water should be used.

After the umbilical wound has healed, ironing of children's things and diapers can be abandoned (the exception is only the healing period of the BCG vaccine made in the hospital, which tends to become inflamed a month after its completion; it is better to resume ironing during this period).

Here's what moms write on the forums:

sharik (resuscitation anesthetist):I stroked 2 weeks, until the belly button healed. Imagine how I would kill to iron up to 8 months

PragueMa: My daughter is three months old - I’m not ironing anything at all. Without consequences. True, there is a dryer, I wash her things separately and dry at 120 degrees, not always, but mostly. I think this replaces ironing. I don’t see the point in ironing. Germs are everywhere. Destroy them with modern methods of child care - diapers, etc. I consider it a waste of time, effort and money. It is enough that children's things will be completely dry - in a humid environment, microbes are still more and they multiply better.

Birch:I ironed only things washed and cooked before childbirth. After the birth of her daughter, there was neither time nor desire. By the way, there were no unpleasant consequences either!

Anna: the pediatrician told me that she once stroked after the purchase and more - no need. do not complicate your life. The child uses them alone, immunity will be stronger.

melam0ry: When I washed the diapers in front of the hospital and started stroking them, my husband came up to me and gently said: “Katya, if you have nothing to do, you’ll go to sleep.” On this, the ironing of the diapers ended.And about the “aesthetics” ... there will be a crumpled diaper if you crumple it after washing and store it in this form, and if it is carefully hung and when it is dry it is carefully folded - there is no difference between ironed and unglazed (I confidently say that I managed to distinguish 5 diapers then they couldn’t)

Well, just smile 🙂