Infection control, without turning your home into a hospital.

Washing hands properly

Most people wash for about six seconds and miss their thumbs, fingertips and the backs of their hands entirely. Those are exactly the parts that touch a baby. The whole thing should take about as long as singing Happy Birthday twice.

1. Wet and soap Clean running water if you have it. Any soap works, it does not need to be antibacterial.
2. Palm to palm Rub the palms together to work up a good lather.
3. Backs of hands Palm over the back of the other hand, fingers interlaced. Both ways round.
4. Between the fingers Interlock and rub. This is where a lot hides.
5. Thumbs Clasp each thumb in the opposite palm and twist. Almost nobody does this.
6. Fingertips, then rinse and dry Rub fingertips into the opposite palm. Rinse well and dry on a clean towel, wet hands transfer germs more easily than dry ones.

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When hands must be washed

• Before picking up or feeding the baby — every time, everyone.
• After every nappy change.
• After using the toilet.
• After coming in from outside, from the market, or from work.
• After handling money, your phone, raw meat or animals.
• Before expressing breast milk or handling bottles.
• After coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.

Hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol is a good substitute when there is no water, but not when hands are visibly dirty, and it does not work against every organism. Water and soap first wherever possible.

Visitors: the conversation nobody wants to have

A new baby brings visitors, and turning people away feels rude. You are not being rude — you are protecting your baby, and the people who matter will understand once you say it out loud. Some things that make it easier:

• Put it on someone else. "The hospital asked us to keep visitors small for the first six weeks" ends most arguments instantly.
• Hands at the door. Soap and a clean towel by the entrance, and ask everyone as they come in. Making it the house rule means nobody is singled out.
• Anyone unwell waits. A cough, a cold, a fever, a cold sore, a rash, diarrhoea — they come back next week. Whooping cough and RSV look like an ordinary cold in an adult and are serious in a newborn.
• No kissing the face or hands. Especially not by anyone with a cold sore. Babies put their hands in their mouths.
• Ask about vaccination. Adults in close contact ideally have up-to-date whooping cough and flu cover. Ask us if you want to arrange it.
• Smokers outside, and a change of top before holding the baby.
• Keep it short and few. The first two weeks are for recovering and feeding.

Feeding equipment

• Wash bottles, teats and pump parts in hot soapy water, with a bottle brush, immediately after use.
• Sterilise by boiling for at least five minutes, or by steam or cold-water sterilising solution, for the first twelve months.
• Make up formula fresh for each feed. Do not keep a made-up bottle warm waiting for the baby to want it.
• Throw away what is left in a bottle after a feed rather than saving it.
• Expressed breast milk keeps about four hours at room temperature in Abuja's heat, and up to four days in the back of a fridge that stays properly cold. Label it with the time.

Around the home

• A mosquito net over the cot, every night. Malaria in a newborn is severe.
• Clean water for everything that touches the baby's mouth.
• Change your own pads frequently and wash your hands afterwards, your recovery matters too.
• Keep the cord stump clean and dry — see cord care.
• Anyone employed to care for your baby or handle food should be screened. Nanny and food handler screening is ₦30,000.

Common questions