Vaginal Hygiene of Girls Seen in Well Child Care Visits

Abstract

To the Editor.— Pediatricians and nurse practitioners often find that the vaginal hygiene of female infants seen in routine well-baby visits is inadequate. Fecally stained secretions are often found in the intracoitus, labial folds, or groin of these children. During a two-month period, we prospectively surveyed mothers seen in our offices for their knowledge of adequate hygiene practices for female infant genitalia. We specifically asked the mothers to demonstrate how they routinely wiped their baby girls' perineal and vaginal areas after "a messy diaper."