Table 5.

Quantitative and qualitative findings on the timing of first bath by country

Country	Percent bathed within 6 h of birth	Main reasons for early bathing
Ethiopia	66% within 6 h [19, 31]: 81% for home and 58% for facility births [31]	Clean the baby, remove odor and make the baby stronger [10]
Ghana	82%: 93% for home and 77% for facility births [11]	Stop body odor later in life [11, 25], shape head, make the baby feel clean, help the baby sleep [11]
Malawi	25% within 6 h [32] 52% within 24 h [22]	Remove dirt and smells [14, 16], make the baby beautiful [14], refresh the baby and help sleep [16], remove vernix (linked with sperm) [16, 37]
Mali	78% [29]	No information
Senegal	No information	Remove blood, sperm and impurities, make baby comfy, stop body odor later in life, stop baby getting sick [26]
Sierra Leone	53% of facilities routinely bathe the baby within 24 h (health facility survey) [33]	No information
Tanzania	59% [21]	Remove the dirt and vernix (linked with sperm) [27], make baby strong and help baby to cry [36]
Uganda	56% [24]	Remove dirt and odor [30, 34, 35], make healthy and hygienic [18], make baby comfy [34], remove vernix (linked to sex) [30], make baby clean for visitors [34]