When your baby is born, there are a lot of special things you'll notice about them. Among them is how delicate and soft their skin is.
Newborn skin is up to 30% thinner than adult skin. That thought is at the forefront of the Pampers Swaddlers team. LittleThings joined Pampers Swaddlers for a virtual panel on baby skin health, featuring a conversation between mom and actress Shay Mitchell, mom and expert pediatrician Dr. Amna Husain, and Pampers global product development section head Harry McCusker. The panel discussed how Pampers Swaddlers keep babies' skin dry and healthy as they grow and develop, both in theory and in practice.
Then we got to sit down with Shay and Dr. Husain to learn even more about what moms need to know about baby skin health.
There are so many things to take into account when you're thinking about your baby's skin health. Pampers kept this at the forefront in the design for Pampers Swaddlers, creating the brand's softest and most absorbent diaper ever.
As Pampers global product development section head Harry McCusker explained, Pampers builds in a number of ultra-soft, absorbent layers that both absorb and wick to keep skin as dry and friction-free as possible. The materials are paraben- and latex-free, as well as hypoallergenic.
Harry went on to explain that keeping baby's skin dry is important because it is so absorbent. That means that whatever a diaper doesn't soak in, the baby's skin will. Bodily functions are naturally acidic and therefore not what you want baby's skin taking in.
With its moisture-absorbent core, the diaper absorbs and distributes the moisture so no one area of the diaper is prone to leaking from absorbing more than its share. Then it locks it away so pressure doesn't re-release the liquid.
"By locking it away so well, that helps to keep your baby's skin dry and ultimately, keep your baby's skin healthy," he noted.
"It does lock it away completely, I've never had a mess," Shay noted. Shay is mom to 1½-year-old daughter Atlas, her first child.
"I just read somewhere recently that new parents lose 133 nights of sleep within their child's first year. I can just say when your baby is sleeping throughout the night, diapers have the biggest thing to do with that. Her Swaddlers keep the moisture away and she's so comfortable throughout the night, so we get 12 hours of sleep, which is very lovely for new parents."
Shay even revealed she's never experienced diaper rash with Atlas, thanks to the ability to keep her skin dry.
Dr. Amna Husain — a pediatrician, soon-to-be mom of two, and wife of a dermatologist — agrees that diapers play a major part in sleep health as well as skin health.
"Just like Shay, I've changed my fair amount of diapers … Not only is baby skin more absorbent and yes, it's the largest organ in the body through adulthood, but if you think about it, what your diaper doesn't absorb, you baby's skin does.
"We can really optimize their pH levels during the day and also overnight. Like Shay mentioned, it's kind of key to helping them sleep through the night."
The panel also discussed the ways babies get tougher on their skin as they grow up. As babies start to move and play more, their diapers will spend more time rubbing against their skin.
"This was something I didn't recognize until I was a parent. Babies are in a diaper 24/7 when they're younger," Dr. Husain noted.
"As your kid is moving around, you want a diaper that's not going to cause any friction. I've seen my fair amount of rashes not just in the diaper region, but skin breakdown from things that move across that area. You want something that kind of moves and grows with your child."
"Even not moving," Shay noted. She recalled traveling to Canada recently with Atlas and partner Matte Babel. The all-day travel saw the family of three on multiple flights and car rides.
"She was great the whole day. Even not moving, it's also nice."
Following the panel, LittleThings got the chance to chat one-on-one with Shay and Dr. Husain about their experiences and moms using Pampers to keep baby's skin healthy.
"From my personal experience of using Pampers with Atlas for 18 months — and I have a lot of experience with the diapers — I can say that they do exactly what they say that they do," Shay shared.
"They are the most super absorbent; she's never had a diaper rash. She's extremely comfortable in them; she sleeps 12 hours a night. You want them to be comfortable because the more sleep they get, the more sleep you get."
Aside from using Pampers, Shay pays a lot of attention to the other products that come in contact with Atlas' skin. When she needs suggestions, she turns to her mom friends for support:
"I have a close-knit circle of friends and family who I trust and I go to with questions. They always have advice for me, so I kind of built my list thanks to them. But I really think you need to try things and see what works for you."
During the panel, Shay mentioned how much more her little one is on the move these days. She later opened up about what it was like having to change Atlas on her daddy's lap during a plane ride.
"That was probably [one of the craziest] because she was really young. We were heading to Paris, it was a 12-hour flight, and I wasn't comfortable enough to use the bathroom with her by myself. I was like, 'Matte … .' She could fit in his lap at that point, so he's like, 'You're changing her on my lap?' and I'm like, 'I sure am.'
"I've definitely gotten the hang of it now. Now that she's a little climber of all furniture, sometimes I have to change while she's on the move, but it's been easy because they're super stretchy, and it lets me get it on her without her lying completely flat."
"Healthy skin starts with a diaper that keeps skin dry because that's what prevents diaper rash, and I think that's something we all fear. You don't want to open the diaper and see that. It's such a sensitive area. You always want to keep them super comfortable."
In our chat with Dr. Husain, she opened up about some of the most common concerns new moms have about baby's skin.
"In the initial newborn phase, we have what we call 'normal newborn rashes.' We're very accustomed to these through the learned eye with many infants," she shared.
"In the first few days of life, you might see that your baby's skin doesn't look that perfect way, and that's very normal. I tell new parents that your newborn has basically been pickling in amniotic fluid," Dr. Husain laughed.
"You can expect them to have a little bit of dry-feeling skin in the first few days of life, and that's very normal. I always encourage parents that if you have any concerns, reach out to your pediatrician. Skin health is one of those things you have to lay an eye on, so it's helpful for us to do an exam and be able to rule out anything serious."
We asked Dr. Husain which ingredients we should avoid and which we should look for in baby products.
"For a moisturizer, I like a moisturizer that contains ceramide," she shared.
"That's a fat that's actually contained in our skin's outer layers so it can help to repair that waterproof skin barrier that we have. If you don't have to repair it, then it keeps it nice and strong and durable and waterproof.
"When it comes to sunscreens for your little ones, I like to look for non-chemical sunscreens, ones that are typically mineral-based. Those ingredients are typically zinc-oxide or titanium-dioxide in sunscreens."
With Pampers Swaddlers, many moms like Shay have been able to avoid diaper rash altogether. If it does strike, Dr. Husain offers this advice on how to handle it.
"Every diaper rash is not the same. Rashes in that region can range from fungal to bacterial, and sometimes even viruses can cause our bodies to have rashes generalized all over, so that's where looping in your doctor is super important," Dr. Husain noted.
"Another thing that's really helpful: not only is what you're putting on but what you're not putting on. This is not a region I'd be applying food, like honey or breastmilk to that area," she continued.
"There are a lot of old wives' tales that they can heal, but I really worry about something that's got sugar content like that increasing the risk of infection. Bacteria, they love sugar, so we don't want to have something like that.
"In terms of what you're putting on, it's always going to vary based on what rash you're treating. Sometimes, I don't have to worry about prescribing anything because it might be something that can resolve on its own. Sometimes it'll be a bacterial ointment, sometimes it'll be a fungal ointment, and we'll go through diaper hygiene."
"One of my tips for preventing a diaper rash is putting a thick emollient on that diaper region each time you change the diaper," she added.
"It's just going to help more to keep that skin dry and does more to keep that diaper content, stool and urine, away from that delicate skin and keeps their skin dry and healthy."
Dr. Husain offered up this bit of advice for new parents who are looking to get baby's skin healthy right from the very beginning.
"Consistent moisturizing with a ceramide-containing cream. I'll be really honest, even married to a dermatologist, I'm so bad about my own moisturization, and I had eczema as a child!" she revealed.
"Becoming a parent, we're so proactive and we want to take care of our little ones before any problem arises. I highly encourage families to not necessarily wait until a skin issue arises. Try to be preventative and proactive about your child's skin health from early on. Start good moisturization practices after bath time and pick the right moisturizer for your child."
For more information on skin health, check out Pamper's skin health resource page.
