Baby Oil Before Bath Time

One of the baby care practices that I was taught by the elders when I gave birth to Asher is to apply baby oil (Johnson's Body Warming) before giving him a full tub bath. They pointed out that the oil will keep the baby from getting cold and prevent getting him sick. Being the obedient daughter that I was, I obliged. Until now, it has been a habit and Asher's cue as well that applying baby oil to his whole body signals bath time.

It's only now that I learned through an online friend who attended the ParentinTV talk series that doing such is unnecessary. According to the doctor who discussed about baby bathing, applying baby oil before bath time doesn't have a scientific basis and explanation on how it will "warm" the baby's skin and protect him from getting cold. While there may be no baby and parenting sites explicitly detailing that such is a must-practice and the Nursery Nurse from the hospital didn't teach me that when the little one got discharged, I'll still continue the oil application. According to one reference, the oil closes the skin pores and helps in the body's insulation. It will also smooth and moisturize dry skin. So far, my son's skin is soft and smooth, not needing any natural acne cleanser yet or whatsoever.

How about you, do you apply baby oil to your offsprings before bathing?