This Mom Has No Plans to Bathe or Clean Her Baby for ‘At Least’ a Month After His Birth – She doesn’t believe in cleaning newborns off once they enter the world

A mom of four threw TikTok for a loop after making an unexpected “confession” about her newborn baby care practices. According to Shahnta Hoare, who goes by @hoareboys on TikTok, she doesn’t believe in cleaning newborns off once they enter the world (yes — goo and all), and doesn’t even think they should get baths for the first month or so, either. In fact, Hoare opened up about it in a TikTok video that quickly went viral.
In the clip, the mom holds her newborn son, Ozzy, as she tells her story

Apparently, she’s always had some strongly held beliefs about the benefits of “vernix” — the white and creamy substance that typically covers a newborn’s skin during the last trimester of pregnancy. Typically, babies still sport a thick coating of vernix when they’re born, but they’re usually cleaned off by the nurses and/or hospital staff just moments after delivery.
According to Hoare, this happened with all of her previous babies

… But not because she wanted it to.During her first birth, with her son Jackson, nurses immediately wiped down her son before she could step in. The secon time around, when she gave birth to twins, the same thing happened again.

Unfortunately, Hoare says she simply “didn’t advocate” enough for herself in the birthing room – something she’s always regretted.So, when it came time for Baby No. 4, she was clear about her wishes

“Ozzy did not get wiped of anything,” she explained in the clip. “Like what you see in that video [of his birth] stayed on him until it just naturally came off.”

The video she’s referring to is this one.

@shahnta_hoare #homebirth ♬ original sound – Louis III

In it, he’s clearly covered from head to toe in that white, creamy goo, which she says has more benefits than people often realize.

“Vernix is actually really good to keep on their skin, it’s actually super, super moisturizing – it’s almost a little oily,” Hoare shared. “He had it in his neck creases, his ears, fingers, toes – it’s the best.”
Experts agree that vernix (otherwise known as “vernix caseosa”) really is good for babies

In addition to moisturizing a baby’s skin, it’s also said to help develop a baby’s healthy gut bacteria, since little ones swallow small amounts of it each day in utero. At the same time, it can help them fight off bad bacteria by building up their weak immune systems. And, believe it or not, according to Dr. Harvey Karp’s website The Happiest Baby, vernix also keeps babies feeling warmer.

For this reason, “delayed bathing” has actually become a thing. That said, it’s not exactly common to never wipe the vernix caseosa off a baby. Happiest Baby suggests that parents wait “a few hours” before giving little ones a sponge bath to clean it off, while the World Health Organization recommends leaving it on for “at least 6 hours” and “preferably 24 hours” in order to give babies the full scope of its benefit. (Leaving it on any longer can start to get smelly and … well, kinda dirty.)
Hoare has her own thoughts on the matter, however

And no, she doesn’t give a flying you know what when it comes to what other people think of her.

“I know it may be gross to some, but when it’s your own baby, you’re like, ‘this stuff is so good,’” she shared in the viral clip.

She also clarified that just because she doesn’t do any formal kind of bathing, that doesn’t mean she won’t properly clean her baby whenever he needs a diaper change. (That, of course, is nonnegotiable.) But as far as a head-to-toe washing goes, she’s going to wait a bit longer.It’s certainly for the best that she feels strong in her beliefs

After all, people on TikTok have not held back with their own opinions on the matter …
In the end, this mom’s story helped inspire a lot of others to do the same

“Doing this for next baby!” one mom shared.

“100% agree!” said another.

Others reminded Hoare (and really every other mama, for that matter) to ignore the haters.

“All this mom shaming!” one commenter wrote. “Don’t matter what you do, someone will always have something to say.”

(Ain’t THAT the truth.)