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Newborns are fragile, and they require all the care you can give. As a new parent, it is natural to feel anxious when you bring your little one home for the first time. I remember how strange it was when we left the hospital with Kimmie – Dear Husband and I kept looking at each other, thinking to ourselves, “Did they really just let us walk out of here with this tiny, fragile little child???”

Creating a healthy home for a newborn is non-negotiable, as their early environment at home can affect their well-being and development throughout their lives. That’s why it’s so crucial for new parents to be aware of the risks and address them effectively. Whether you’ve been in your current house for years, or have just moved into your new family home (as was the case for us when Kimmie was born), planning home safety beforehand will make things SO much easier when it’s time to bring Baby home from the hospital.

Ready to learn how to make sure your home setup is optimized for Baby’s health? Then read on!

This is a collaboration post. However, please know I stand behind everything written here, and only include links to products/services/resources I’m willing to recommend personally.

Healthy Home Healthy Family: Is My Home Healthy for Baby?

When it comes to making sure your home is ready for Baby, three big areas to consider include making sure the air is clean, eliminating hidden toxins, and ensuring a safe and comfortable environment overall.

Maintain Healthy Air Quality

Given how common air pollutants are both inside and outside American homes, it’s not surprising that air quality concerns rank high on many Americans’ list of environmental hazards.

Indoor air quality is a matter of concern for American homeowners, considering most homes have pollutants. The American Lung Association highlights the hazards of poor indoor quality, which can cause infections, chronic lung diseases, and even lung cancers. When air quality ratings go down, the rate of breathing problems go up, and those people already suffering from asthma and other respiratory conditions experience worsened health. Because newborns’ lungs are tiny and may not be fully developed, they are at high risk of complications from breathing bad air.

And while we often think of outdoor air hazards from things like wildfire smoke, the pollutants inside our homes can be just as dangerous – and harder to spot. For example, do you have a wood-burning fireplace or a gas stove? Both of these can release unhealthy toxins into the air.

So what can parents do to protect their little ones’ breathing?

I wrote an entire post on how to tell if your home’s air is making your family sick, and another on how to allergy-proof your home; the tips in both these posts are helpful in getting your home’s air ready for Baby to come home.

RELATED POST: How To Allergy-Proof Your Home

RELATED POST: Why Clean Air At Home Matters

When it comes to the byproducts of wood- and gas-burning, you might consider replacing your wood-burning hearth with an enclosed gas-powered one (as we did), or upgrading the venting on your stove to cut down on the hazardous particles released by gas-powered stoves.

Air purifiers with HEPA filters are a super way to help clean your air at home. Regular cleaning is also important to help keep down dust and dirt levels. If you just can’t keep up, consider hiring some help, as this is one area where you DON’T want to skimp. And when it comes to cleaning, skip harsh chemicals and opt for natural alternatives like vinegar and baking soda.

And don’t forget about cigarette smoke, which is highly toxic to children, especially newborns. Secondhand smoke greatly increases the likelihood that your child could experience asthma and other breathing issues, or die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Minimize Toxins and Contaminants

Reducing exposure to toxins is crucial for a newborn’s health. Unfortunately, most American homes have hidden toxins that homeowners may not be aware of. For example, VOC-based paints can cause respiratory issues. Chemical cleaners, pesticides, and personal care products can also harm your newborn.

Toxins and contaminants can also lurk in your family’s water supply. Although we live in Suburbia, we recently got a letter from the nearby city that supplies our water, warning us that its drinking water contained unsafe levels of PFAS during a recent test. Apparently we’re not alone; perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are found in 45% of U.S. tap water, and they’re not the only contaminant (lead is also a common culprit). As of August 2024, 2,067 sites in the US had detectable PFAS levels in their drinking water. The AFFF lawsuit highlights the perils of these chemicals, which are also found in the AFFF-based firefighting foam.

Why is this a big deal? Because these forever chemicals are associated with a higher risk of developing several otherwise-rare cancers. Many firefighters and navy personnel have brought up these claims against foam manufacturers. Additionally, many communities have filed lawsuits to seek damages for implementing large-scale remediation initiatives. As for your newborn and other kids at home, higher level of PFAS exposure at home increases young children’s risk for developing leukemia before the age of 7.

And don’t forget about other common toxins!

Chief among these are radon and lead. Radon test kits and lead testing kits are inexpensive and well worth the investment. If your home has high levels of radon (as ours did when we moved in a month before Kimmie’s birth), it’s worth getting a radon mitigation system installed. Lead can be harder to avoid, but there are steps you can take to reduce the levels present around your home.

A big source of lead contamination is chipping paint, if your home was built before the U.S. government banned lead paint in 1978. So if you live in an older home, you need to make sure your painted surfaces stay in tip-top shape (no peeling, chipping, etc.). Regularly wiping down these surfaces and keeping your home dust-free are other ways you can work to keep ambient lead levels at bay.

RELATED POST: DIY Painting Tips To Save Time And Money

Plan for Baby’s Physical Comfort and Safety

Along with the hidden concerns I’ve already addressed, there are plenty of more tangible things you can do to help keep Baby comfortable and safe around the clock in your home.

Manage Indoor Temperatures

Besides keeping your air clean for Baby, you want to make sure your home’s temperature is optimized for what a newborn’s system can handle. Because infants can’t regulate their own temperature effectively for the first several months of their lives, you should try to keep their environment at a stable 67-72 degrees Fahrenheit (20-22 degreees Celsius). Because babies are so sensitive to temperature changes, even minor deviations can affect them.

Along with maintaining a comfortable temperature at home for Baby, think about other sources of possible temperature fluctuations. Make sure that Baby’s surroundings are free of drafts or unexpected heat (e.g., sunny windows or space heaters). If you notice a temperature change and Baby gets upset, check to see if they need to have their layers adjusted to help them acclimate to the temperature shift.

Make Sure Baby has a Safe Place to Sleep

A safe sleeping environment is another thing to consider when bringing your newborn home from the hospital. Newborns who don’t have a safe sleep environment have a much higher risk of accidental death due to SIDS.

What does a safe sleeping environment look like? All infants really need for the first few months of their lives for safe sleep are a firm mattress and just enough sleepsacks (wearable blankets) to help them maintain an appropriate body temperature. This means that Baby’s sleeping space should NEVER contain pillows, blankets, positioning wedges, or stuffed animals, and there should be NO crib bumpers unless they’re made of breathable mesh.

And above all else, infants should ALWAYS be placed on their back to sleep – NEVER on their side or their stomach.

Finally, if at all possible, have Baby sleep in your room until they’re 4-6 months old – but never in your bed with you, which can also increase suffocation risk. You can place a crib, cradle, or bassinet near or next to your bed to monitor them more easily; I also kept a rocking chair in our room next to the cradle so we had a safe place for nighttime feeds (one where I wouldn’t fall asleep WITH Baby in bed with me!).

Baby-Proof Your Living Space

Although baby-proofing your space is not an immediate requirement after birth, it should happen before the little one starts crawling. The last thing you want is for your little one to get hurt because of sharp furniture, stairs, or hot objects.

Addressing these safety issues BEFORE you bring Baby home from the hospital, if doable, will give you a head start:

You can begin by securing heavy furniture to the wall to prevent tipping.
Next, add babyproof latches and locks to your cabinets, to keep cleaning chemicals and other dangerous substances out of reach, and outlet covers to keep Baby away from outlets.
Keeping your floors clean and clutter-free will reduce tripping hazards. Trust me, the last thing you want is to trip and fall while carrying Baby!
Examine your home’s layout with an eye toward which staircases or doorways will need baby gates installed. If possible, install gates before Baby comes home.
Finally, don’t forget about safety covers and locks for doorknobs, refrigerators, stove knobs, and toilets. You may not need all of these for every one of those hazards (for example, we just made sure to ALWAYS close bathroom doors when our kids were little), but it’s easier to think about these things when you’re not sleep-deprived.

And of course, you’ll want to regularly clean doorknobs, countertops, and other high-touch surfaces to minimize the spread of germs.

The bottom line:

A clean and hygienic environment is essential for a newborn’s health. To clean the environment for a baby, you must regularly dust and vacuum floors and carpets. Use natural cleaning products to avoid harsh chemicals that may harm your infant. Also, ensure proper ventilation and use air purifiers if necessary.

Parents must provide a safe and nurturing environment that supports their baby’s health from day one. Begin with these simple steps when you bring your newborn home from the hospital.

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