• It’s best to wash your hands before changing your newborn’s diaper. Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water after each diaper change, too.

• Lay your baby on a clean surface. Take along a blanket or changing pad when you go out.

• Remove the dirty diaper.

• Use a washcloth dipped in clean, lukewarm water, or a baby wipe. Wash all the area on your baby that the diaper covers. Wipe from front to back to avoid infection. You may need to lift your baby gently by the ankles to gently lift your baby's bottom so you can clean underneath. Don't forget to clean in the creases in your baby's thighs and buttocks.

• If your newborn still has an umbilical cord this is a good time to clean the cord. Simply clean around the cord with a little clean water and soap, using a cotton ball or cotton swab, then dry thoroughly. Researchers have discovered that cleaning with alcohol may actually delay healing. The cord stump is not sensitive to pain, but the area around it on the skin is, so again, keep the diaper below the cord stump.Gently clean off the sticky stuff around the cord where it touches your baby’s tummy. The cord will fall off by itself in five to 10 days. Your baby may cry when you touch the wet swab to the cord. Be gentle. Check with your doctor if your baby cries at other times when you touch the cord. Check with your doctor if the skin around the cord is red.

• Newborn boy: You will find out pretty quickly that it is a good idea  to put a disposable or cloth diaper over your baby boy's penis while you are cleaning him up. It is quite normal for baby boys to pee while you are changing them and you don't want to be in the line of fire! It is also quite common for newborn boys to have erections, so covering his genitals can save you having to do a clothes change for both of you. If your baby is uncircumcised, you do not have to push the foreskin back to clean.

• Newborn girl: Wiping from front to back is very important for little girls, keeping poop away from the vagina will help to prevent urinary tract infections.  Newborn girls may also have a thick white mucus covering the opening of their vagina that helps to prevent infection and irritation. This is normal and does not need to be vigorously cleaned out. In the first weeks of life, it is even normal for girls to have a small amount of vaginal bleeding. This is a response to maternal hormones - if you are at all concerned with any vaginal discharge your baby has, seek medical advice.

• Pat dry gently and apply a diaper cream if you use one.

• Now put a clean diaper on your baby. If you are using pins, put your hand between the pin and your baby’s skin. Do not let the diaper cover up the umbilical cord.

• Newborns use about 10 diapers every day. Change them as soon as they are wet or soiled. This can prevent rashes. Have a place to put the soiled diapers. When you are out take plastics bags with you to put the diapers in until you can wash or dispose of them.

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• Diaper rash - Yeast infection
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