By Jillian Christofferson
Whether your baby is dirty is more an issue of semantics rather than science. What is “dirty?" The popular opinion changes dramatically by region, culture, era, and socioeconomic status. Do you mean unacceptably soiled? Do you mean unbecoming? Stinky? Unhealthy? Unsafe? Newborns are none of those things. A more appropriate consideration would be whether something has an unhealthy level of harmful bacteria.
We know bacteria comes in endless varieties, but sometimes it’s tricky to categorize things we can’t see with the naked eye. Staring at your hands, you can’t often say whether they require antibacterial soap, or just a quick rinse. That’s when we use context clues. Our hands do some pretty dirty jobs. They are regularly exposed to unhealthy and possibly harmful bacteria which is why most people opt for the evidence-backed choice of killing that bacteria several times a day.
The context of newborn hygiene is a bit more niche, but once you have the info it’s similarly straightforward. Babies in utero are kept safe from harmful bacteria, so you only need to track what happens once they leave the womb. Vaginas are protected by healthy bacteria that not only don’t need to be washed off, but greatly benefit the beginning of baby’s new gut microbiome - when given the chance to establish itself. Babies born via cesarean section may not be presented with the same beneficial bacteria, but they are birthed into a sanitary environment that doesn’t require intervention to immediately neutralize anything dangerous. Exposure to their own home bacteria - as well as that of their family members and pets - has been shown to improve babies immune systems and reduce their chances of developing allergies later in life.
Newborns washed in hospitals are cleansed not to prevent illness or remove bacteria that are harmful to baby, but to streamline hospital procedure. Babies are born covered in a myriad of fluids that can seem off putting until you understand their function. The most curious of these is a creamy white substance called vernix. Vernix is a naturally occurring film made of proteins, water, skin cells, and fatty acids which coat a fetus during the last trimester, protecting their sensitive skin. While strange looking, vernix is a miraculous moisturizer and protective barrier to harmful bacteria. The World Health Organization recommends leaving vernix on your newborn for a minimum of 6-24 hours post-birth, and many researchers recommend longer in order to take full advantage of its ability to aid in the adaption of baby’s skin from existing in liquid to air. Removing vernix and other beneficial skin bacteria, often means a greater need for synthetic moisturizers to compensate for resulting skin imbalances.
Everyone loves a fresh-smelling baby and newborn baths are undeniably cute, but we might all benefit from a new outlook on how we achieve a truly healthy infant. This begins with embracing and understanding the body’s natural ability to care for itself from the womb. Allowing vernix to nourish tender skin and function as a natural antibacterial barrier does far more good than scrubbing it off and replacing it with a foreign substance unable to replicate its benefits. Refusing hospital baths and waiting ideally weeks (but even days) to give baby their first bath has shown positive impacts on baby’s health for years to come. Newborns are not careful eaters, or considerate poopers, but blowouts and spit ups can be taken care of with a warm water rinse or washcloth wipe. Consider bathing less frequently and switching to a detergent-free body wash to encourage the colonization of friendly bacteria while promoting the skin’s natural ability to balance itself.
About the Author
Jillian Christofferson is a birth worker and educator, craftsperson, and mother of two. Follow her on IG @jillian.christofferson.
]]>I started CRUDE in my kitchen nearly a decade ago, after an experiment with oil-cleansing—a concept that was new and ‘crude’ then but widely embraced now—cleared up my chronic acne breakouts. In my research to determine the best kinds of oil to use on the skin, I discovered the work of Dr. Gary Darmstadt, a globally recognized developmental health expert and Associate Dean for Maternal and Child Health at Stanford Medicine.
In a breakthrough study conducted by Dr. Darmstadt and his colleagues, the application of sunflower seed oil to premature infants’ skin resulted in a 52% reduction in mortality compared to a control group that received standard care. This remarkable result is attributed to the oil's ability to maintain skin barrier function, one of the body’s first defenses in preventing infection. This work supports long-held theories about the benefits of emollient therapy (applying an oil to the skin) which include reduced risk of infections, enhanced immunological protection, and even improved overall nutrition in children. These findings have already had a tremendous impact on children’s health with its results being translated into policy and practice worldwide. Dr. Darmstadt has been kind enough to speak with me about his research and its implications and I couldn’t be more excited to share his expertise with our CRUDE family on our newest educational platform Skin-to-Skin.
“I expected that we'd see something, but I was shocked when we saw a 52% reduction. I mean, it's just absolutely mind boggling…if that was a pill, if that was a drug that a pharmaceutical company had produced and studied, people would be buying that stock like crazy.” - Gary Darmstadt, MD, MS*
Where Dr. Darmstadt’s research shows the power of supporting the body’s own protective mechanisms, the skincare philosophy I learned in esthetics school was much more invasive. Using harsh cleansers and exfoliants that strip away natural oils and bacteria was standard practice, only to then replace what was stripped away with synthetic serums and moisturizers. But, the skin’s protective oils and microbiome, or flora, are there for a reason. Our skin and well-being depend on them at any age.
This new understanding expanded my focus from merely treating acne to supporting our bodies' natural healing and protective capabilities on a larger scale—starting at birth. Prioritizing a healthy moisture barrier in infants is crucial as it plays a significant role in protecting the skin against external pathogens and irritants. A healthy skin microbiome also helps in regulating the immune system, reducing the risk of developing certain diseases and skin conditions. Maintaining the natural oils and flora on your baby's skin from an early age is vital for their long-term health and well-being, and the ingredients you use on their skin really do matter.
"There were some specific reasons that we chose sunflower seed oil, and the more I go along in this field and the more I work with it the more I’m convinced that there’s something kind of special about it." - Gary Darmstadt*
Shop the world's first certified Microbiome-Friendly baby wash
It’s rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids which have antioxidant and moisturizing properties, respectively. Sunflower oil is non-greasy and easily absorbed into the skin, so it won't leave baby feeling sticky or greasy. Plus, it's hypoallergenic, making it a great choice for those with sensitive skin. Sunflower oil also closely mimics the skin’s own oils, or sebum, allowing it to repair or replace the skin’s moisture barrier to prevent pathogenic bacteria from entering the skin.
But not all oils are created equal. While sunflower seed oil has been found to benefit the skin's moisture barrier and even promote neurodevelopment, Dr. Darmstadt’s research shows that olive oil can actually disrupt the moisture barrier, as can soap and detergent-based baby washes.
Beyond the skin, emollient therapy has been found to diversify infants’ microbiomes even in untreated areas, like their stool. And, topically applied sunflower oil can even deliver important nutrients to an infant’s body through skin absorption. Undernourished infants often struggle to absorb nutrients through their gut potentially making emollient therapy an additional avenue for nourishment, especially in settings where access to food or supplements may be limited.
Moreover, skin-to-skin contact and Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) can further enhance the benefits of applying emollients like sunflower oil. Research by Dr. Darmstadt and others has found that preterm infants who received skin-to-skin contact with their caregivers had a wide range of benefits including improved survival. Specifically, they showed improved cognitive development, including increased attention and enhanced memory, as well as better motor development, including improved muscle tone and coordination. Additionally, preterm infants who received skin-to-skin contact had lower levels of stress hormones, better regulation of their heart rate and breathing, were protected from serious infections and showed improved growth. The World Health Organization now recommends that all preterm or low birth weight infants the world over – except if critically ill – receive Kangaroo Mother Care starting immediately after birth.
The use of emollients like sunflower oil is crucial in neonatal care, especially in low-resource settings where access to more expensive interventions is limited. Emollient therapy is a low-cost, safe, and effective approach to improving skin health in preterm infants, and it has the potential to save countless lives.
Since the beginning of CRUDE, it has been our message to educate and advocate for the magic of the microbiome. If you're ready for more flora-friendly content, dive in and discover Skin-to-Skin.
*The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the writer and are not meant as endorsement of any product by Stanford Medicine or Gary Darmstadt, MD, MS.
About
Denise Cartwright is the Founder and CEO of CRUDE, and a Master Esthetician with 15+ years of experience. A lifelong Utahn, she's passionate about the natural world, vegetarian cooking, and environmental activism. Check her out on Instagram @dkcartwright.
]]>You take all the classes, practice your breathing techniques nightly, read birth books, and pack your hospital bag with every little thing you could possibly need for a two night stay. You do the breaths, you call your doula, your partner navigates the potholes on your planned route like there’s a gold medal awaiting them in triage. A hiccup here, an unforeseen complication there, and 72 hours after your first contraction, you are in that thoughtfully assembled baby room, basking in the glow of a brand new baby.
Now what?
Infants are confounding. They all look vaguely like old men or potatoes, and yet we are drawn to them. The sweet smell of their disproportionately large heads, and those big blinking eyes. It’s a biological trick and it works like magic. They are so small and yet somehow their accoutrements take over your entire house. All they do is sleep and eat and it requires a minimum of 25 hours a day. “Sleep when baby sleeps” often feels like a sick joke, and it’s a rude awakening to discover that no diaper brand can contain the sheer force of liquid poo coming out of what is essentially a 7 pound glow worm with your dad’s nose.
But my God, are they magic. It doesn’t make any real sense. I know there are people who don’t get it or are put off by all of it, but I will never fully understand them. I’ll use one of those snot sucker tubes with no fear. My youngest is 3 years old, and I still have one of those wraps that is basically just 60 feet of stretchy fabric in the event I may need to bust out my most fluid ninja skills and attach someone else’s child to my body. It’s made only slightly less weird when you know that I’m a birth worker.
I have dilation charts, pelvic models and disembodied breasts for teaching childbirth education. I have a go-bag full of electric candles, granola bars, and bendy straws for attending births. I buy extra glass jars for bringing soups and stocks to new parents postpartum. I love birth and I’ve always loved babies. I was the parent who read all the books and reviewed research to make evidence-based decisions regarding the laundry list of birth choices that needed to be made. Then I came home from the birth center, sat my swollen self on the carefully selected rocker, snuggled my beautiful boy into my rock hard boobs and looked around. I hadn’t prepared for this part.
The “4th trimester” is a term coined by Dr. Harvey Karp, in reference to the roughly 12 weeks of life post-birth. This period is unique in the outline of your new parent life for a few very important reasons. Most of those reasons lead back to the fact that human babies are effectively born too soon. Have you ever seen a giraffe give birth? A 150 pound wad of wet giraffe falls 6 feet to the groun, then attempts to stand on toothpick legs and finally walks over to join the tower. In contrast, human infants don’t walk or communicate in very effective ways and they really shouldn’t be dropped from great heights. Good luck getting them to participate in group activities. Our infants are smushy and helpless. They are born like this because they have comparatively massive skulls to house their incredibly useful brains. As any birthing person can attest to, nine months is about the max for the skull to pelvis ratio to still come out in favor of continued procreation. This means that for three months, newborn babies are basically fetuses living outside of the womb. It’s inconvenient for everyone.
I actually knew all of this before I gave birth. What I failed to factor in is that I would be navigating my child’s unique needs while continuing to care for myself. I had 27 stitches in my vulva that everyone told me to wash gently and no one told me to dry thoroughly. So then, I had 27 stitches and a yeast infection! I had all the pads needed to soak up blood I knew would be coming for weeks, but until my Midwife showed me my placenta, I had no real idea of the enormity of the open wound inside my body where all that blood was coming from. I had one comically small box of nursing pads with no inkling that - considering how much I would use - I should have purchased stock in the company. It wasn’t like postpartum was some kind of natural disaster I wasn’t prepared for, it was that I was navigating so much of it in the dark. We treat new parents like the owners of show dogs when really they are raw humans in transformation.
Imagine the scene all over again, but this time some of the books are about caring for your tender body and nervous soul. This time you make space for processing your birth story, and know which friend you should call when you can’t stop crying, even though everything is technically okay. You practice birth positions, and breathing techniques, but also sitting quietly. You teach yourself how to truly rest and be cared for in a world that appraises your worth based on your production value. That’s the postpartum I had the second time I gave birth. It healed parts of me I didn’t know were still raw, and instilled in me a sincere passion for educating and holding parents in their fourth trimester.
I will always adore newborns in all their strange and vulnerable ways, but now I love fresh parents for theirs too.
About the Author
Jillian Christofferson is a birth worker and educator, craftsperson, and mother of two. Follow her on IG @jillian.christofferson.
]]>By Jillian Christofferson
The moment a baby emerges from the womb, they experience something novel: touch. Every new experience has the possibility to disrupt and disorder a person who has never lived outside a human body. Once placed on their parent’s chest, they are grounded by the sound of the heartbeat that has been the calming metronome of their existence thus far. They are finally exposed to the smells, sounds, and the microbiome of what they’ll experience as home.
Having the opportunity to calmly rest on the chest of their birthing parent kick starts a subtle and important process of recuperation, connection, and vital regulation. Once calmed by familiar sounds and scents, baby begins to wake and respond to voices. This is followed by an innate interest in breastfeeding that has the potential to create a pattern which can help smooth over possible feeding issues down the road. The intimate connection with baby triggers the release of oxytocin which promotes bonding, triggers the flow of breastmilk, contracts the uterus to minimize bleeding, and warms the body in order to aid in regulating baby’s body temperature. Baby’s heart rate, cortisol (stress) levels, and breathing are also regulated by this connection.
Prolonged skin-to-skin contact immediately following birth contributes to the initial colonization of baby’s microbiome by friendly bacteria from their parent’s body. Studies confirm that combined with exposure to vaginal fluid and breastmilk, the resulting microbiome is both unique and robust. We know that a healthy microbiome is a vital part of an effective immune system, efficient digestion and balanced skin, resulting in fewer skin complications like eczema.
Birth exists at the crossroads of science and magic. Nothing better demonstrates this than the extensive list of benefits of a parent and baby being in close proximity to one another. These benefits don’t end after an hour of skin-to-skin contact immediately following their birth. Disrobing baby to their diaper and placing them on the chest of a parent or caregiver before wrapping them continues to show great benefits for both parties for weeks and even months after delivery.
Touch and the human experience are intrinsically linked. Just as we hold hands to show affection, hug to calm our nerves, or cuddle to promote feelings of safety and connection, babies yearn for physical connection to the world around them. Skin-to-skin is a simple yet profound practice that introduces infants to the possibility of physical and emotional refuge as they navigate the world. With that ingrained sense of security and love, babies who experience skin-to-skin contact are better equipped not just to survive, but thrive.
About the Author
Jillian Christofferson is a birth worker and educator, craftsperson, and mother of two. Follow her on IG @jillian.christofferson.
]]>By Denise Cartwright, CRUDE Founder/CEO
As soon as a baby is born, millions of bacteria begin to colonize its tiny body — making their new home in the baby’s gut, mouth, skin, ears, and in between their toes.
These microscopic bacteria are transferred from mom to babe during birth, and afterward as she holds the baby close, skin-to-skin. From the very beginning, human life is dependent on bacteria, our “invisible organ” whose importance we’re only just beginning to understand.
The human body has as many if not more bacterial cells than human cells —most of which are harmless, and many of which are helpful. Research is increasingly uncovering the wide ranging effects that these bacteria, our microbiomes, have on our bodily health — from gut and skin health to mental health and the prevention of allergies. Our resident flora, or microbiome, is responsible for helping develop and train our body’s immune system, teaching it to respond to our body’s needs over the course of our life.
The first 1000 days of a baby’s life provides an important window of development for the microbiome. Studies suggest, for instance, that the state of a baby’s microbiome in the first two years of life may predict later risk of obesity and increased risk of metabolic and autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and asthma. The microbiome may also be particularly important in the development of the newborn brain, with potential outcomes ranging from effects on cognition, anxiety, mood, and sociability. There’s a lot we still don’t know about the microbiome, but research is beginning to uncover some interesting clues about how our lifestyles and environment could affect the complex bacterial universes on each of us. We did our research and compiled our favorite science-backed insights to help you navigate (and cultivate) your baby’s biome.
Beyond the early months of infancy and breastfeeding, a diet high in fiber is associated with a healthier, more diverse gut microbiome. The introduction of a diet rich in complex carbohydrates can help feed the child’s healthy bacteria and create an environment in the gut for them to thrive — protecting the child from inflammation and pathogenic bacteria. This goes for mom, too! A high-fiber diet could be one of the most foundational ways to help gut bacteria flourish in humans of all ages.
The skin naturally produces a thin, oil-based “shield” called the natural moisture barrier. This barrier maintains the skin’s proper pH and bacterial balance, and retains essential moisture in the body. At least in the case of pre-term babies, this protective barrier is literally life-saving. The skin is a significant entry point for life-threatening bloodstream infections, and a weak moisture barrier allows allergens and irritants to more easily enter the body, leading to higher rates of disease. Research from Stanford’s Gary Darmstadt shows that sunflower oil effectively strengthens this barrier, reducing neonatal mortality by 27% and hospital acquired infection by 50%. This is huge, and shows the value of keeping baby’s skin properly moisturized with safe ingredients— but it’s also important to take it one step further, by taking steps to ensure that you’re not stripping the babe’s protective oils to begin with.
Soaps and sudsing cleansers unnecessarily strip the skin’s natural moisture barrier of its resident bacteria. Washing your hands with soap is an important measure for preventing the spread of disease, but soap is far too aggressive for chronic full-body use, especially for babies. To protect baby’s biome, it’s important to avoid harsh cleansers that strip nature’s protective goodness. Antibiotic exposure also alters the microbial profiles of both mom and babe, and should be used with discretion at all ages to avoid disrupting the body’s beneficial bacteria and risking antibiotic resistance. This is especially important during the first few years of a child’s life as their microbiome is developing — proceed with caution and definitely consult your doc regarding any potential health concerns.
Exposure to germs in childhood is thought to help strengthen the immune system and protect children from developing allergies and asthma. The best way to help your nature thrive could be to, well, get out in nature. It may also be helpful to bring nature inside the home — having pets has been associated with increased microbial diversity. Both having pets and time spent in nature have proven to boost mental health by decreasing the stress hormone, cortisol — which is also a bonus for your biome. Elevated levels of cortisol have been shown to trigger a negative change in the microbiome, switching once friendly bacteria into harmful, pathogenic ones. Maintaining emotional homeostasis could help us maintain bacterial homeostasis — it’s truly all connected, isn’t it?
Possibly the biggest influence on baby’s biome is what they’re fed. Breast milk, nature’s perfect baby formula — is full of hormones, antibodies, and you guessed it, beneficial bacteria. These invisible helpers colonize the infant’s gut and set the course for the baby’s growing immune system and metabolism. Emerging research suggests that breastfed infants are less likely to be colonized by potentially pathogenic organisms like C. difficile and E. Coli bacteria, and direct breastfeeding without a pump is associated with a higher overall bacterial richness and diversity.
And breast milk’s brilliance doesn’t end there — backwash from nursing babies may even trigger infection fighters in mom, changing the composition of the breast milk itself to support baby’s immune system. This adds to the long list of reasons breastfeeding should be normalized and supported in work and public spaces, but there are many reasons it’s not always possible to breastfeed your babe. If it’s not happening, don’t fret — pumped milk and formula still offer the other goodness and nutrients found in breast milk. Probiotics and prebiotics are also increasingly being used in baby formula; ask your doctor if they can help you find one that’s safe for your baby.
We’re committed to providing the education that support you, your family, our biomes, and our living planet — and we think that starts by trusting, rather than interfering, with nature’s brilliant regenerative systems. We’d love to know how you’re promoting bacterial diversity and homeostasis in your life and with your family, so don’t hesitate to comment or email us at crudecare@livecrude.com with your tips and suggestions. Happy seeding!
About the Author
Denise Cartwright is the Founder and CEO of CRUDE, and a Master Esthetician with 12+ years of experience. A lifelong Utahn, she's passionate about the natural world, plant medicine, and wellness. Check her out on Instagram @dkcartwright.
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