Just want to know what is that white stuff covering newborns when ther first born. I have a bet with my sis on this she say’s it’s semen and sperm and all that good stuff :rolleyes: I say it has to be something else so which of is right.Thanks 
I was told that 'back in the day" the midwives would use it as a really good hand lotion.
Vernix caseosa, for those who dropped out of Latin, means cheesy varnish.
Yummo!
Basically, it’s a sloughed off…uh, stuff. But it’s definitely not semen, for goodness’ sake. It’s a naturally occurring stuff, shed skin cells, lanugo (baby body hair), etc., and if the baby is born “late”, it will have all washed off into the amniotic fluid. If the baby is born too early, there won’t be any accumulated to protect the too-thin skin. There’s no harm in leaving it on the skin - it’s a great moisturizer - and a bath to wash it off the newborn is definitely not needed, but seems to be the done thing anyway.
Vernix is a little bit yucky, but quite necessary. It keeps the baby’s skin “waterproof” while in the late stages in the womb.
I found it a bit disconcerting to find it between fingers, buttcheeks, toes and any other little folds on my brand-new baby. But, as others have said, it’s not harmful - and it’s DEFINITELY not semen. Sheesh. Semen? What would cause that assumption? Do you think that if mommy had sex that the semen would just stick to the baby? Semen can’t even get up in there anymore once you’re pregnant. You develop a mucus plug in the cervix to keep nasty stuff out of there until you’re ready to pop.
It is quite unyucky. It has the feel of the best hand cream you could ever imagine. Which is hardly surprising given the job it has to do.
I keep hoping someone will analyze it and make a synthetic version.