Is it OK to leave your newborn baby to shower?

A mum has asked fellow Mumsnet users whether she should leave her baby alone while she showers, and the question has divided the forum.

The user wrote: “We’ve had our first baby and my DH is back to work today after paternity leave. This may seem like a stupid question but we seem to disagree about whether I can take a shower while the baby sleeps in the bedroom without my having a baby monitor to take into the bathroom.

“I think I should be ok if the baby’s upstairs, I’m in and out asap – potentially leaving the bedroom and bathroom doors open.

“He reckons I need to take a baby monitor into the bathroom (which we haven’t yet purchased).”

However, there was a fair amount of disagreement over what the new mother should do.

Some thought she would be totally fine, urging her to take a shower and not to worry.

One user responded: “Go for it. I never took a monitor into the bathroom with me for any of mine. You won’t be gone long!”

Another joked: “I’ve never taken a baby or any aged child into the bathroom with me nor used a baby monitor. A baby won’t explode if you leave it for 5 mins.”

One user urged the worried new mother to shower while she still had a chance.

She wrote: “In two years’ time you’ll be cursing the fact you can’t have a shower or go to the toilet without someone coming in saying “Mummy?” So please have a shower. Nothing is more likely to happen. Baby monitors and alarms cause more anxiety than they save overall.”

However, others weren’t so sure, with one person suggesting the mother should definitely take in a monitor with her while she showers.

She wrote: “With a baby that young (I’m assuming two weeks?) I’d definitely take the monitor in. I’ve only started popping for a quick shower without the monitor and my little boy is nearly 7 months.”

Another suggested the mother bring the baby into the bathroom with her. “If you’re worried pop your baby in a bouncer in the bathroom, that’s what I did with my first.”

Would you leave your baby while you had a shower? Let us know in the comments section below.

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