Surgeon warns against kissing and cuddling newborn babies due to unseen health risks

When there's a new addition to the family, everyone wants to kiss and cuddle the baby - but you should never kiss a newborn, a surgeon has warned.

In a recent TikTok, Dr Karan Raj, an NHS surgeon explained why those with a newborn or those who come into contact with one must wash their hands before holding the baby, and should not kiss the baby (unless they are the newborn's parent or carer).

It seems many people were unaware of this health risk as 54 per cent of new and expectant parents would "let friends and family kiss their newborn baby, unaware of the risk of serious infection", according to a survey from The Lullaby Trust.

Kissing newborn babies should be avoided due to the fact they haven't got a fully developed immune system yet, meaning they're more susceptible to infection and illness.

To be more specific, there are fewer innate infection-fighting immune cells for the first three months of an infant's life - an infection that an adult can fight off with ease could be life-threatening for a baby - especially in those first four weeks as their brain barrier isn't fully developed yet, as explained by Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology at The University of Leicester in The Conversation.

For example, herpes causes cold sores in adults and if they kiss or come into contact with a newborn this could result in them catching the virus and getting ill.

Antiviral treatment can be used to treat a baby displaying symptoms outside the body, but if the virus has been transmitted internally, then this could have more serious consequences as it could impact the baby's organs.

Furthermore, Dr Raj noted that you should avoid babies if you've got diarrhoea or a vomiting illness for similar reasons.

Infectious bacteria are also another thing newborns are more vulnerable to, for instance, GBS infections in babies can cause sepsis, pneumonia, meningitis and blood infections.

While E. coli strains don't affect adults, they can cause pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis in babies.

The main takeaway from this is to ensure you're washing your hands and avoid newborns if you've got any kind of infection or illness. Also rather than kissing the baby's mouth or face, you can kiss their foot or the back of their head instead.

So when can family and friends come and visit the baby?

The surgeon and TikToker recommends planning visits when the baby's immune system is stronger, which he says is around two to three months.

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