>The first is that we went from a very limited visiting
>policy to a very liberal one (11am to 8pm for general
>visiting). When I go in at 7pm most of the moms are
>cross-eyed tired from all the visitors and have not nursed
>because they are too embarrassed in front of visitors...

The visiting policy of the hospital where I teach childbirth
classes is 1-8 pm for anyone other than husbands and siblings
who can come any time. If the Mom is in the single room,
Dad's can stay the whole time. If Mom is in a double room
(which is rare these days with early discharge) then the
two roommates work it out.

Rooming in is the policy unless Moms request that the baby
be in the nursery. When I talk about it in my classes, I
emphasize the importance of rooming in for mothers and babies
to get to know one another and that research has shown that
mothers do not rest any better with baby at the end of the
hall than they do with baby in the room.

Once the word gets out that there's a new baby in the family
it is sometimes difficult to control who comes to visit when,
and new Moms and Dads feel uncomfortable throwing out cousins,
uncles and aunts who want to see the new Mom and baby. I let
people know that it the nurses can play the heavy.
Nurses are very good at being firm but gentle and they will
ask people to leave if it gets to be too much. It's also ok
for Moms or Dads to ASK the nurses to clear the room if Mom
is tired or wants to nurse privately.
  Naomi Bar-Yam

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