Baby Baths and Water Safety for Infants

Urgent Guidance First

In the US, call 911 right away if a baby or child has been under water, is struggling in water, is not breathing normally or is unresponsive. For a scald, the NHS advises holding the burn or scald under cool running water for 20 minutes as soon as possible, and says severe burns may need treatment in hospital. [1] Take a recognized first aid and CPR course; this page is for prevention, not rescue training.

Never Leave a Baby Alone in the Bath

The NHS is direct: never leave your baby alone in the bath, even for a second, and do not allow older children to look after a baby in the bath. [2] It says babies of any age can drown very quickly in just a few centimeters of water, with no noise or struggle. [2]

The numbers support this. In one Central Texas children's hospital over ten years, 50 children aged 0 to 9 were treated for bathtub drowning, and 56% were under 1 year old. [3] In 91% of incidents a caregiver was intending to supervise, but in only 24% was the caregiver actually engaged in supervising. [3] The most common reasons were retrieving a towel or clothes (39%) and caring for other children (20%). [3] An Australian study of 78 child bath deaths found two thirds were under 2 years old and all were left without adult supervision. [4] Another Australian review linked indoor household duties to bathtub drowning deaths. [5]

These are descriptive studies of real events, so they show patterns and not how often drowning happens. Globally, the WHO says children under 5 account for nearly a quarter of all drowning deaths and risk rises when children are in water outside active adult supervision. [6]

Get Everything Ready First

The NHS advises having everything you need at hand before you start: a baby bath or clean washing-up bowl with warm water, towels, a nappy (diaper), clean clothes and cotton wool. [2] The Texas study's authors call for prevention messaging that stresses gathering all bath supplies before starting a bath and avoiding distractions. [3]

Water Temperature and Scalds

The NHS says the water should be warm, not hot; run the cold water first and then add hot; check it with your wrist or elbow and mix it well so there are no hot patches. [2] Parachute Canada, a Canadian injury-prevention charity, says bath water for younger children should be no hotter than 38 °C, and that a child's skin burns more quickly than an adult's. [7] It also advises that taps be set no hotter than 49 °C (120 °F), and notes young children cannot move away from hot water quickly. [7] These are figures the sources advise, not a protocol, and we cannot confirm what a given home's water heater is set to. See scalds and burns from hot water.

Bath Seats and Co-Bathing

The NHS cites the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (UK) as recommending that baby bath seats are not used, because babies can drown in a few centimeters of water, and it is not safe to leave a baby unsupervised in a seat even briefly. [2] A 20-year autopsy review from a Toronto children's hospital found inadequate supervision in 89% of 18 bathtub drownings, co-bathing in 39% and infant bath seats in 17%. [8] It is a small series, so treat the percentages as illustrative.

The NHS also says that if a baby is frightened of bathing you can try bathing together, with water that is not too hot, and with someone else holding the baby while you get in and out. [2] We are not aware of a source we read that sets out the risks of co-bathing in detail; the Toronto series counted it as one associated factor. [8]

Keep the Head Clear, Drain the Tub

Keep the baby's head clear of the water, and empty the bath water as soon as you have finished. [2] Babies do not need a bath every day. [2]

Babies With Medical Conditions

The Australian bath-death study found common causes included infants unable to hold their head out of water while unsupervised and pre-existing conditions including epilepsy. [4] If your child has a condition that could cause seizures or weakness, ask the clinician who treats them about bathing, and read epilepsy, seizures and water safety.

Hot Tubs, Spas, Saunas and Baby Swim Classes

Proper evidence not found. We searched PubMed for infants and hot tubs, spas or saunas and for children and sauna safety, and the NHS baby-bathing page, and found no usable study or guidance on putting infants in hot tubs, spas or saunas. We do not offer a safe time or temperature. The NHS says to check on children, older people and people with long-term conditions in hot weather because they are more at risk of heat illness, so discuss any such plan with your pediatrician first. [9] See hydrotherapy safety and therapies for children and older adults.