Learn how to handle baby acne from pediatrician Dyan Hes, M.D. in this Howcast video about newborn and baby development. A lot of parents never have heard of baby acne before they come into my office. They often come in saying, my baby has a rash on her face, and my baby's got pimples. What should I do?
So, baby acne is normal. It comes from two reasons. One, baby acne can come from the hormones that the mom has in her body during the pregnancy that the baby is getting exposed to those same hormones, almost like being a teenager. So, the baby can develop baby acne.
Secondly, mothers that breast feed are passing a lot of hormones as well to their baby, and the babies can continue to have baby acne for a little bit longer, let's say a couple of months after being born.
And this is all normal. We do not treat baby acne. It's just a cosmetic issue. It doesn't itch the baby or irritate the baby. It's just not pleasant to look at for some parents.
I do happen to like Aquaphor, which is a mixture of glycerin and Vaseline, and if you put that a little bit on the baby acne, it just takes away the redness sometimes, but it does not cure it.
I always say that baby acne is most bothersome to grandparents because they don't like to see it in the photos, but it really is not a medical condition that needs to be treated at all.
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