When can you cut a newborn's nails?

Newborns have nails at birth, because nails are a symbol of the development of life. From the moment the fingers are formed, the nails continue to grow. Therefore, newborns have mature nails after birth. Too long nails will bring many inconveniences to newborns. Among them, there are many examples of newborns' nails scratching the skin. Therefore, proper nail trimming is very important. But, how many days can newborns' nails be trimmed?

The nails of full-term babies are longer than the fingertips at birth and grow rapidly. The nails of post-term babies are 2-3 mm longer than the fingertips. Of course, for premature babies, especially those with a birth weight below 2500 grams, their nails do not reach the edge of the fingertips at birth, and will not reach this level until they are one month old.

When bathing your baby, you can often find scratches and bleeding on his palms. This is because the newborn baby's hands are in a clenched fist shape, and the nails that are longer than the fingertips scratch the skin. In summer, babies' little hands are "liberated" and they wave around everywhere, often hurting themselves accidentally. In addition, if the baby's nails are too long, they are prone to breakage. The uneven cross-section is a sharper "weapon" and can hurt the baby if not careful. Babies have weak resistance, and these scratches and breaks provide opportunities for bacteria to invade, easily leading to wound infection and even sepsis.

Therefore, if a newborn baby's nails are longer than the fingertips, it is necessary to cut them instead of waiting until the baby is one month old. Of course, you have to be careful when cutting. You should use small nail scissors and cut along the curvature of the nail. Generally speaking, it is sufficient to trim the tree once every 10 days or so.

The best time to trim your baby's nails

1. 0-1 years old: It is recommended to trim the baby’s hair when he/she is asleep. Because a sleeping baby's sensitivity to the outside world is greatly reduced, mothers can do the trimming work with confidence.

2. 1-2 years old: After falling asleep is of course a good time, but the baby's sleep time at this stage gradually decreases. The mother can also try to trim him when he is drinking milk or playing quiet games.

3. 2-3 years old: Babies at this stage can already understand adults’ intentions. The mother may as well tell him clearly the purpose of clipping his nails, ask him to cooperate, and give encouragement and praise after clipping. Of course, you should also pay attention to the following: try not to hurt your baby or forcibly cut his nails when he is in a bad mood, so as to avoid him feeling disgusted or resistant to nail cutting.

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