Mom Backed for Raging Over Strangers Touching Her Baby: 'Inappropriate'

A new mom has been backed after sharing her frustration over strangers touching her newborn baby.

In a post on the popular discussion site Mumsnet, RiceRiceBaby16 raged: "Ever since he's been born, when we go somewhere at least one person ends up touching or nearly touching him. Am I being unreasonable to think it's inappropriate and rude?"

She is far from the first parent to be irritated at uninvited strangers reaching out to touch her new baby,

"Babies are adorable. And that means everyone wants to take a peek at them," Olivia DeLong, senior health editor at parenting advice site BabyCenter told Newsweek. "For many people, it comes naturally to 'ooh' and 'ahh' over children out in public and even want to touch them in their stroller or car seats. The situation is so common, it regularly appears as a discussion in BabyCenter's Community."

The worried mom explained on the now-viral post: "Germs and all aside, I don't even know you! I'm also genuinely concerned about people's perceptions about boundaries. The problem is that I also struggle to say no a lot of the time and find it awkward to tell someone, 'Please don't touch him.'"

While healthy babies are fairly resilient, they still need protection from illness as their immune systems develop.

"We're seeing illnesses like the flu and RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] in unprecedented numbers this season, so it's a good idea for parents to be on high alert when it comes to others touching their newborn or infant," explained DeLong.

This is particularly important when babies are too young to have received routine vaccinations to protect them from potentially serious illnesses.

As a result, being vigilant about who touches your baby is important. "The medical experts we speak with regularly recommend that anyone who holds your baby—including friends and family—be up to date on their immunizations and that they follow good hygiene practices, like washing their hands regularly," said DeLong.

"Ugh that's weird, I wouldn't like that either," said one commenter on the post. Another recalled: "One woman put her finger in my 3-day old baby's mouth when I was in the supermarket, it was quick and unexpected, I couldn't believe it."

The concerned mom asked other users how she could approach the situation and protect her son's boundaries without appearing rude to strangers.

"You have to be quite assertive to deal with it," said one Mumsnet user. "If someone goes for the lunge just put your hand in front of their reach and say 'no thank you,' or move baby away."

DeLong also had some advice for parents looking to enforce boundaries with strangers without appearing rude.

"If you're uncomfortable with strangers touching your baby in any way, you can politely ask them to keep their distance. You can say something like 'Feel free to say hi, but we're being careful of germs right now, so we prefer you don't touch,'" she suggested.

Alternatively, she suggested that wearing your baby close to your chest in a carrier or papoose would give parents even more control over who comes close.

"You can also lower the sun shield on your stroller to prevent others from reaching their hands in freely," she said.