You might have dreamed of gazing into your newborn’s sweet peepers while getting to know each other in the hospital. Instead, you’re looking into goopy, slightly puffy eyes. What’s the deal? Well, the goo comes from a special eye ointment that protects your baby’s eyesight.
What is the eye ointment for newborns?
This eye ointment is called erythromycin and it’s an antibiotic. Within 24 hours after she’s born, a doctor or nurse will apply a thin strip of erythromycin ointment under your little one’s lower eyelids. Usually this happens in the first two to three hours of your little one’s life. You may also hear the phrase "eye prophylaxis," which is the medical term for using antibiotic ointment to prevent eye infections in newborns.
You won’t have to wash this ointment off later, either. It eventually wears off on its own after a day or two.
Why do newborns get eye ointment?
Simple — the ointment protects babies from serious eye infections caused by gonorrhea, chlamydia and other common bacteria. Moms who have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) can pass it to their newborns during childbirth, putting them at risk for an eye infection known as ophthalmia neonatorum (ON).
Of course, you’re thinking there’s no way you could have an STI, and you probably don’t. Plus, your OB/GYN probably tested you for chlamydia and gonorrhea during pregnancy.
But some moms-to-be don’t get tested, either because they don’t have health insurance or they don’t receive good prenatal care. Or you may have gotten chlamydia or gonorrhea after you tested negative. After all, men and women can have these STIs without having symptoms and the rates for gonorrhea are rising.
So for all those reasons, it’s safer to give every newborn erythromycin ointment as part of the routine tests and procedures.
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Is eye ointment necessary for newborns?
It’s important that your baby gets this eye ointment: If she doesn’t, and you have gonorrhea or chlamydia, there’s a 30 to 50 percent chance that you’ll pass the bacteria on to her. And that puts your baby at risk of developing ON, which is no joke. In a few days, the eyes of an infected baby become puffy and red with pus. If the infection isn’t treated, it can damage the corneas and cause blindness.
That’s why preventing bacterial eye infections with eye drops or ointments has been standard newborn care since the 1880s, when practitioners put silver nitrate in babies’ eyes. They later switched to erythromycin because it’s much less irritating.
In 2019, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reaffirmed its previous recommendation that all babies receive antibiotic ointment at birth. The recommendation also has the backing of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.
So think of erythromycin eye ointment for your newborn as just-in-case insurance, even if you had a C-section. Since it’s an antibiotic, it could prevent eye infections from other types of bacteria that your baby could pick up.
Delaying the application of newborn eye ointment
Erythromycin can blur your newborn’s vision a bit, but your little one’s eyesight isn’t 20/20 to begin with. (Most infants are nearsighted.) But if you want to make eye contact as you hold your baby, ask the doctor or nurse if they can delay putting the ointment on those pint-sized peepers for an hour or two. They’ll probably say yes so you both can enjoy your first skin-to-skin cuddle and nursing session without any increased blurriness getting in the way (though your eyes may get blurry with tears).
Thinking of refusing erythromycin eye ointment in newborns? You may want to decline because you feel there’s zero chance that you’ve got an STI or you’ve heard that your baby’s eyes can get irritated from the ointment.
Maybe it’s time to reconsider. After all, it’s safer to prevent an eye infection than to treat one, and treatment for babies with ON usually involves an IV antibiotic and even more days in the hospital.
When your baby does get this protective goo, just remember her blurry vision is only temporary. Once at home, you can gaze into those sweet eyes for as long as you like, and your baby may look right back at you.
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