Skin & rashes

Those little red bumps that erupted on your newborn's face right before the photos are baby acne — harmless, driven by leftover hormones, and not your fault. Here's when it shows up, when it clears, and the hands-off care that actually works.

You've noticed a flat spot on the back or side of your baby's head and you're worried. Positional flat head (plagiocephaly) is common, usually harmless, and very often improves with simple repositioning and tummy time. Here's why it happens and how to help.

Your newborn's skin is flaking and peeling — on the hands, feet, and ankles — and it looks like a tiny sunburn. It's almost always completely normal: the outer layer shedding after nine months in fluid. Here's why it happens, what to do (very little), and when to call.

Why sponge baths come first, why two or three baths a week is plenty, and how to handle the totally normal weirdness of newborn skin — peeling, milia, baby acne, cradle cap. Lukewarm water, fragrance-free, and skip the powder.

Under 6 months, the rule is shade and clothing — not sunscreen. From 6 months on, broad-spectrum SPF 30+, reapplied every two hours. A practical, no-scare guide to keeping small skin safe in the sun.

Keep it clean and dry, stick to sponge baths until it falls off (usually 1–3 weeks), and skip the alcohol — that's modern guidance. Plus what's normal as the stump heals and the signs of infection (omphalitis) that mean call the doctor.

A calm, sourced field guide to the four most common baby-skin issues — eczema, cradle cap, and diaper rash — how to tell them apart, what actually helps each, and the rare rashes (non-blanching plus fever) that are an emergency.