Dear Friends:
     Rhoda is trying to convince some people who do not want to be convinced.
If the Evidence for the 10 Steps is not enough, what more can one do to show
that there is no evidence to support mother-infant separation?
     "....mothers should have contact with their babies as soon after birth
as they wish, and for as long as they wish."   This comes from "A Guide to
Effective care in pregnancy and childbirth"  by Enkin and Keirse, June 2000.
This book of evidence-based practice is based on the research in the Cochrane
Database.
     Can Rhoda flip the question and ask the nurses to prove the benefits of
separation? Do they accept that practice should be based on research?Are they
in a power struggle?
     Here is something else from Enkin and Keirse: "The only justification
for practices that restrict a woman's autonomy, her freedom of choice, and
her access to her baby would be clear evidence that these restrictive
practices to more good than harm. Evidence about the adverse consequences of
routine separation of mothers and their newborn infants in the early
postnatal period accumulated during the 30 years or more during which this
practice was widespread." The authors go into detail.
     There are several reports on the reduction in child abandonment when
Baby-Friendly practices are implemented. Here is one:

 Pediatrics 1980 Aug;66(2):176-82

Reduced incidence of parenting inadequacy following rooming-in.

O'Connor S, Vietze PM, Sherrod KB, Sandler HM, Altemeier WA 3rd.

Low-income mother-infant pairs were randomly assigned to rooming-in (N = 143)
or to routine (N = 158) postpartum contact to determine whether rooming-in
affects subsequent adequacy in parenting. At mean age 17 months, two
rooming-in and ten control children had experienced inadequate parenting. One
rooming-in and eight control children were hospitalized for these problems.
One rooming-in and five control families were reported to Protective Services
for mistreatment of the study child; five control and no rooming-in children
were in the care of adults other than their parents at the time of data
analysis. In this study, rooming-in correlated with fewer subsequent cases of
parenting inadequacy.

Here is a URL for a medline search.
     http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Display&
dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=7402802

Good luck. Remember that active resistance is a sign of change.
     Warmly,

Nikki Lee RN, MSN, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI, CCE
craniosacral therapy practitioner
Elkins Park (a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; northeastern USA)
supporting the WHO Code and the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative

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