Purpose of full bath for baby after birth. doesn't a wipe down suffice? i prefer the vernix left on as much as possible but hosp. says bath.

Bath better: A good wipe down also works but a bath gets water everywhere so best to bathe baby.

Rinse contaminants: The baby is exposed to an interesting collection of germs as soon as the water breaks, these include such things as group b strep, e.Coli & other inhabitants of mom's poo. For every hour until delivery the germs have access to the baby and may hitch a ride on their skin surface & later enter their body. A good wash helps reduce the body germ count & may avoid infection later.