P07 Recommendation and practices on infant skin care among health workers in Nigeria

Résumé fourni par la source

INTRODUCTION: The relative immaturity of the infant skin barrier makes it susceptible to penetration of allergens and microbes. As a first step to investigating the effects of products and care practices on infant skin, there is a need to identify common early life practices on the skin. OBJECTIVES: To determine the skin care practices and products recommended and used for infants following delivery by health care workers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online survey among 109 health care workers in maternity and neonatal units across 50 health institutions in Nigeria. RESULTS: Predominant skin care practices include cleaning of the vernix caseosa (VC) immediately after birth (68.2%), while olive oil was used to clean the VC (86.4%). Most respondents (76.1%) bathed the baby within 24 hours of birth and natural products/ oil were mostly used to moisturise the skin in the first few days of life (48.6%). Recommendations include natural oils for skin moisturisation in 94.5% of respondents. Preferred natural oils include shea butter (54.1%), olive oil (49.5%) and coconut oil (45.9%). Recommendations of skin products and practices were based on professional guidelines (60.6%) and personal experience (35.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Natural products are preferred for infant skin care among Nigerian healthcare workers. Olive oil has been previously reported to be detrimental to the skin barrier. There is a need for further investigation into identified products for infant skin health.

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