[Perinatal baths: effects, progress and indications].

Abstract

Somewhere between ritual and care, bathing newborns is an age-old practice that has been taken up by parenting care services. Professionals and parents alike can use different types of bath: hygienic, enveloping or therapeutic. These practices are described and questioned in terms of their benefits and limitations. The aim of this narrative literature review is to highlight the field of research into the effects of such care on babies and parents, both somatically and psychologically, which is still under-explored.