Published: 01 November 2024
A new study, led by researchers at City St George’s, University of London, aims to determine how often parents should bathe their newborn babies to prevent their baby developing eczema.
Eczema is a chronic condition that causes the skin to become red, dry, itchy, sore and cracked. It can have a damaging effect on quality of life by causing distress, a lack of sleep and an increased risk of bacterial infection through intense scratching.
Eczema is the most common skin disease which affects nearly one in five young children, with children from black and minority ethnic groups at a disproportionately higher risk.
Although there are treatments to ease symptoms, there is no cure or any ways to prevent the skin condition from developing.
Genetic causes have previously been linked to an increased risk of having eczema, but environmental factors are likely to play a major role. Over the last century, rates of childhood eczema have risen which coincides with changes to the way families bathe their babies. Bathing can cause changes to the skin by interrupting the skin barrier, which the researchers say could make it more or less likely for eczema to develop.
“It’s a very challenging time for parents when a baby develops eczema. We believe it’s possible that simple changes to how we bathe our newborn babies could help prevent eczema. We hope that our trial will unveil the optimal bathing frequency for babies so we can give families better guidance in the future.”
- Dr Michael Perkin, lead researcher and Reader in Clinical Epidemiology from St George's Population Health Research Institute -
In the first trial of its kind, women who are pregnant and due to give birth before 31 December 2024 will be recruited to the study. They will be randomly allocated into one of two groups: to either bathe their baby as often as they wish or to follow new baby bathing guidance.
Using a mobile phone app, both groups will simply log every time they bathe their baby for the first six months. Each month they will also complete a quick questionnaire on their baby’s skin health. At the end of the study when their baby is six months old, they will have an eczema assessment by a doctor at St George's University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
This study is funded by an NIHR Research for Patient Benefit award. The researchers hope that the trial will provide vital information to support a larger, nationwide clinical trial.
Learn more and join the Baby Bathe trial