Do they put ointment on newborns eyes, or is the liquid natural? If so what causes it really?

they put the ointment on so the baby doesn't get an infection in its eyes

They put it there after birth!

Thanks guys lol, I didn't want to sound silly asking... I was just extremely confused and didn't know what it was! @princessalaynasmommy @mommasaurus

I hated it but they'll give em a bath before too long!

@mommasaurus, ok my fiancés sister had her daughter and her eyes were leaking and I was scared

That would definitely be something else. It's some sort of vaccine or something similar bits positive for baby tho!!

it's an antibiotic to prevent pink eye. you can decline giving it to your newborn if you wanna

I'm a lab tech and it's called silver nitrate ointment. it doesn't just prevent pink eye, it prevents infections that can cause neonatal meningitis and blindness because even normal flora of the vagina can cause infections in baby's eyes/brain

@ginnalynn, @steph11 actually it's not silver nitrate a majority of the time. It's Erythromycin, and it is used to prevent certain eye infections of newborn babies, such as neonatal conjunctivitis and ophthalmia neonatorum. It is also used to treat gonorrhoea and syphilis. They also use tetracycline ointment. It depends on the mum - so you're both correct. ☺️

@phinnybinz, I didn't know that some hospitals used diff ointments. all the hospitals I've worked in have used silver nitrate for babies. great info, thanks for sharing :)