🧠 Wellbeing · 0–12 months
👃 Managing smells around your baby
Babies can recognise familiar smells, and strong fragrances or smoke may irritate their skin or airways. Gentle, low-fragrance care is a practical choice—not a reason to worry about every everyday smell.
Simple choices
- Choose fragrance-free washing and personal-care products where practical.
- Never put a worn shirt, blanket or soft toy in baby's crib to provide a familiar scent.
Key habits
1. Go easy on fragrance
Avoid spraying perfume or aftershave on your chest or neck before holding baby. Ask other caregivers to do the same if fragrances seem to bother them.
2. Avoid concentrated oils and airborne irritants
Do not apply essential oils to baby or add them to feeds. Avoid diffusers, aerosol fragrances, incense and mosquito-coil smoke near baby. Discuss suitable mosquito protection with your barangay health centre or pediatric team.
3. Keep laundry gentle
Use the recommended amount of fragrance-free detergent and rinse well. Skip scented fabric softeners if they irritate baby's skin; “hypoallergenic” does not guarantee a product will suit everyone.
4. Keep smoke and vaping away
Keep the home and car smoke- and vape-free. Smoking outside, washing hands and changing smoke-exposed outer clothing reduce exposure but do not make it harmless.
5. Enjoy safe closeness
For skin-to-skin, stay fully awake with baby's face visible, nose and mouth clear and neck comfortably positioned. If you feel sleepy, move baby onto their back in their own flat, firm, clear sleep space.
A local detail, or your own experience with this guide? Write to the team
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When in doubt, contact your doctor or midwife. For a life-threatening emergency, call 911.