698 mothers and babies, 38 390 nappy changes: what did we learn?

Background Several industry funded studies between 2001–2018 have compared the use of a single brand of baby wipes to cleansing with water and either cloth or cotton wool during nappy changes. All of these studies found that wipes were safe and effective from birth. Recommendations from these studies have included the need for brand or formula comparison but to date, no previous study has done this. Aims The ‘Baby skin integrity comparison survey’ (BaSICS) study was designed to compare three brands of baby wipes to determine if there was any difference in the incidence of irritant diaper dermatitis (IDD or nappy rash) during the first eight weeks of life. Methods Mothers who were allocated to a single brand of nappy but divided into three baby wipe allocation groups, collected and reported survey data on infant skin integrity during one nappy change daily with the use of a user-friendly smartphone application. Findings All brands of wipes were acceptable to mothers and safe and effective when cleaning during nappy changes. The brand containing the fewest ingredients showed a clinically significant advantage of fewer incidents of rash than the other two brands. Conclusion This study demonstrated that wipe formulation is a significant factor in prevention or reduction of IDD during the first eight weeks of life.