Frequently Asked Questions

Follow hospital guidelines for bathing if they are available and use your clinical judgment to determine if a bath will compromise an infant’s medical stability. See our Swaddle Bathing Clinical Practice Guideline for more information.

Absolutely! The current research recommends immersion bathing or swaddle bathing for healthy infants. Healthy babies should have their baths delayed:

i) AWHONN recommends giving the first bath between 6 and 24 hours of age.

ii) WHO recommends waiting at least 6 hours for the first bath.

Yes!  The AWHONN (The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses) 2018 Skin Care Guideline states that infants should ideally be bathed with immersion or swaddled immersion bathing.

Research shows that no difference exists in cord healing, bacterial colonization of the cord, cord infection or frequency of diaper dermatitis among infants who were immersion bathed versus those who were sponge bathed. 

Also, infants can have a shallow swaddle bath where the water level is filled below the level of the umbilical cord

Yes! Babies with NAS are comforted when swaddled and placed in warm water.  You can swaddle bathe daily for comfort but use cleanser only 2 to 3 times per week to avoid dryness. Swaddle bathing with the TurtleTub is a bonding activity the family can do with their infant while in the hospital and when the infant goes home.

The TurtleTub is designed for premature infants and full-term newborns. On the small end – refer to #1 above. Full-term and larger pre-term babies fit perfectly in the TurtleTub too. The maximum size is: Crown-to-rump measurement is 15 inches (38cm) or total length approximately 23 inches (58 cm) which is about 3 months corrected age.

Yes!  We offer the TurtleTub extender.  The extender fits on the TurtleTub and extends the length to fit infants up to about 1 year of age.  The Large TurtleTub liner must be used with the extender to protect against cross contamination and to create a seal between the TurtleTub and the extender. 

The water level should be no higher than the infant’s chest, so it will vary depending on the size of the infant.  The water usage range is between 1-2 gallons. The weight of the TurtleTub with water ranges between 10-18 pounds for 1-2 gallons of water, respectively. 

The fleece blanket can be re-used on multiple patients if it is laundered per your hospital protocol for “baby laundry.”  Please see the swaddle bathing blanket page for laundering details. A clean supply of fleece blankets should always be available in your unit.

A swaddle bath is typically no longer than 7-10 minutes.  Monitor the water temperature throughout the bath to ensure the infant stays warm.

Schedule the first bath with the parents. Talk them through the procedure as you simply keep your hands on the baby’s head for comfort and safety. Infants typically calm during the bath, so parents enjoy doing it. It is one of the few “typical parenting activities” in the NICU. Consider scheduling bath days for the infant and reserve the bathing for the parents.   

Bathtime is a great time to massage the infant’s arms and legs.  It’s also an opportunity to talk about infant development, calming strategies, bonding, and basic infant caregiving.  Bath time is a good time to get a sense of how comfortable a parent is with their infant so you can adjust your education. 

Yes, the supplies for the TurtleTub Bathing System can be bought individually or in packs and kits.  Please refer to the ordering page for more information.

Yes, but only if the TurtleTub is used with the TurtleTub liner.  For infection control purposes, a tub should not be used on more than one patient, unless our single-use liners are used.  Ideally a new TurtleTub is provided to each patient and the family can take the tub home at discharge. 

No.  For multi-patient use, the TurtleTub must be cleaned and covered with a new TurtleTub liner on each bath. 

To protect the infants from infection The TurtleTub can be used  a) as single-patient use in which the TurtleTub is given to the family at discharge or b) as multi-patient use with a TurtleTub liner for each bath.  

In addition to infection control reasons,  cleaning agents and wipes leave a harmful residue on the tub which can then irritate the infant’s skin. 

Cleaning for single-patient-use: Wash the TurtleTub with gentle soap and water and dry.

Cleaning for multi-patient-use: Discard TurtleTub liner. Wipe the TurtleTub and the supporting surface with a disinfecting wipe such as PDI Sani-Cloth Super (purple top). Please contact us for a list of approved wipes.    

TurtleTub multi-patient disinfecting process is validated per FDA requirements.

The TurtleTub is covered under warranty for 1 year if used per the manufacturer's recommendations. Over time, the color of the temperature indicator can dull and the TurtleTub can acquire micro scratches which harbor bacteria. We highly recommend replacing the TurtleTub after 1 year of use. Please put the date of the first use on the TurtleTub label as a replacement reminder.