Many babies are born with a whitish-yellow, greasy layer that covers all or part of their skin. This is the so-called cheese smear, also known as fruit smear (Latin: vernix caseosa). "It looks like it's fallen into a pot of cream," remarked one Father with a wink, when his son was born. This idea of a care product is not so far-fetched: as the body's own skin protection cream, the cheese cream perfectly protects the baby's sensitive skin in the mother's womb and even after birth.
A few years ago, Dutch scientists succeeded in "recreating" a type of synthetic cheese cream in the laboratory for the care of heavily stressed skin. The cosmetics industry now offers a number of skincare creams for adults and children that are modelled on the "original" cheese cream. However, the cheese gunk that surrounds your little miracle in your belly cannot be replicated so perfectly. The human original is better than the synthetic replica. In this article, I would like to tell you all about what the cheese gunk can do for your baby.
Protective layer of the cheese smear
The white to light yellow colour of the cheese smear and its greasy, rather viscous, wax-like consistency were probably decisive for the name. Both together may have somehow reminded the inventors of the name of cheese. However, anyone who now thinks that a cheese smear that is still attached at birth would also typically smell of cheese is mistaken. No, this protective layer on the skin is completely odourless, even if some mothers claim that they think it smells wonderfully delicate like vanilla or caramel.
Cheese gunk consists mainly of water and a secretion secreted by the baby's sebaceous glands, i.e. skin fat. It also contains dead tissue cells (so-called epithelial cells) and secreted Lanugo hair. From around the 14th to 17th week of pregnancy, the vernix begins to form and gradually build up. The multi-talent has the following functions before and after birth Four functions:
Skin protection: The cheese lubricant prevents the still very thin and sensitive skin of the foetus from softening in the amniotic fluid. It is supported by the lanugo hair of the unborn child. In addition, the cheese lubricant forms a protective barrier against certain aggressive substances in the amniotic fluid. After birth, the remaining vernix protects the newborn's skin from drying out. This is why you should not wash the Vermix off the baby's delicate skin. The remains of this special "cream" will be absorbed into your baby's skin within a few days after birth or can be gently massaged into the skin.
Lubricant: The cheese lubricant reduces friction on the baby's journey through the birth canal. This allows the baby to slide through better, making its "journey" into the world easier.
Thermal insulation: Once the baby has seen the light of day, the (remaining) cheese layer acts as an insulating layer. This means that the newborn's skin cannot release as much heat and is better protected from the cold. This is another reason why it is better not to remove the cheese layer.
Infection protection: Cheese gruel is a real all-rounder and even has an antimicrobial effect. It contains a high proportion of vitamin E, which protects the child from viruses, certain bacteria and fungal spores. More precisely, the vermix inhibits the growth of these germs and counteracts their spread. This works both during and after birth.
Maturity sign
At around the 36th week of pregnancy, the foetus has the maximum amount of cheese lubricant. After that, the child's skin increasingly "uses up" the mix, so that its layer then steadily decreases. This basically means that the later a child is born, the less vernix it brings into the world. It is therefore quite possible that a baby will no longer have any cheese smear at all. This is especially true for transferred children with each passing day. Calculated date of birth out. Baby's skin is already well developed by then.
Conversely, premature babies born from the seventh month onwards are regularly still surrounded by a thick protective layer of vernix. The functions of the cheese layer as thermal insulation and protection against infection play a particularly important role for them now. However, there are exceptions for premature babies, which I will come to in a moment.
A note beforehand: The amount of cheese smear still present in the newborn is one of the so-called signs of maturity. These are certain characteristics that provide information about the maturity (viability) of the newborn. Other signs of maturity are, for example, the baby's skin colour, its weight or the Lanugo hair.
Other influences
However, it is not only the time of birth that is associated with the amount of cheese smear still present in newborns. Other factors and circumstances also have an influence:
- Babies born by caesarean section, for example, are often still wrapped in a good layer of mucus. Why? Because these children do not have the path through the birth canal, where the cheese lubricant also rubs off.
- If a child is born extremely prematurely - i.e. before the 28th week of pregnancy - it often lacks the protective layer completely or to a large extent. This is because the corresponding cells are still immature at this point in the pregnancy and are therefore not yet able to produce a large or sufficient amount of cheese layer. As mentioned above, the maximum amount of vernix on the unborn child's skin is only formed around the 36th week of pregnancy.
- The child's sebaceous glands play a decisive role in the production of cheese lubricant. Their number and composition therefore also influence the amount of Vermix present.
One Response