We are constantly surrounded by friendly and unfriendly bacteria, viruses, and unnatural sources of danger. All of which can be beneficial or harmful depending on the amount and intensity of exposure. When newborns arrive into their world, we have to continue to offer protection against overexposure to potentially harmful elements. Nurturing helps their bodies protective systems adjust to exposure in the new environment.

Babies need a good dose of Vitamin D to help develop the body's autoimmune system and the quickest way and most natural way to achieve this is by exposure to sunlight. It is essential to know that over-exposure, can and will cause sunburn, heat rash and future susceptibility to skin disorders. The best and wisest method of getting Vitamin D from sunlight is by least exposure to direct sunlight for prolonged periods, since babies' skin is very sensitive to the new environment.

Besides your newborn's skin other areas leading into the body should be protected. One such area is the ear. Moisture, dirt, unfriendly bacteria and even insects can invade your newborn's body by entering through the ear. Refrain from immersing the ear into bath water, and position baby in such a way as to prevent water from entering directly into the ear canal when washing the face and hair. Wax buildup is natural, but too much can lead to ear aches and other problems, so daily cleaning is essential, but remember not to force anything down the ear canal. In tropical countries parents place the feet of cribs in a small container of water to prevent ants and other climbing insects from invading the sleeping area. This is important since ants are attracted to baby milk and other foods that might linger on the baby's face after feeding.

The need to protect your baby becomes more apparent when the leading cause of accidental deaths among children is drowning. For infants below the age of one year, the bath is where a majority of drowning and near drowning occur, usually in the absence of any adult supervision. For toddlers the greatest percentages of accidental drowning occur in open water sites like unattended buckets of water, commonly used in homes to mop floors. Drowning accidents occur within seconds, in silence. Statistics show that for many such accidents the child was under the supervision of both parents who was missing for only an average of five minutes.