There is something like that in the hospitals in my country (Bulgaria, so it is quite similar to the situation in your country).

There is a special room with about 10 green chairs with big holes on the sitting part of the chair, donation from an influent diaper company with the company logo on them. The moms get to watch a short film about bf and newborn care (20 min) and if they have some questions, they can ask the nurse.

But moms go without babies at these meetings.

When we do rounds as bf peer councellors in the maternity unit, we go directly to the mother's room - there are usually 2 moms in the same room with their babies - and we are dressed in disposable medical clothing. 

It is not uncommon for other hospitals in my country to have 4-6 moms with babies rooming in together for the duration of their hospital stay. I am not aware of any local statistics showing increased infections rates by this practice ("just" a lot of inconvinience for moms and babies, of course).

Christina Yaneva
BF Peer Councellor
Bulgaria


--- On Thu, 10/8/09, Vika Nesterova <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> From: Vika Nesterova <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Breastfeeding support groups and group education for postpartum mothers in hospitals?
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Thursday, October 8, 2009, 9:47 AM
> Dear friends,
> 
> I am present a meeting for Maternal and Infant Health
> Project
> coordinators (people, who are responsible for
> implementation of
> evidence-based perinatal practices in the Ukrainian
> maternities).
> There was a discussion about practice of one of
> maternities
> (baby-friendly and overall very good in implementation of
> evidence-based practices – for example more than 80% of
> thair vaginal
> deliveeries are vertical).
> In that maternity mothers with their babies (2-3 days
> postpartum) are
> invited to special room where they (mothers) watch a video
> about
> breastfeeding and a nurse shows them breastfeeding
> positions with a
> doll and  tells them something useful (I hope) about
> breastfeeeding.
> Mothers have their babies in arms during this lecture.
> Those moms are
> also get information individually during their postpartum
> stay.
> Objections to this practice were that mothers and babies
> are gathered
> together in one room (usually it is 3 to 5 mother-baby
> pairs as I was
> told). People from other maternities are afraid that this
> can increase
> infection risks.
> I was asked to investigate how this learning is organised
> in
> maternities in other countries. I have searched the
> archives and found
> several older posts where group education in postpartum
> units is
> mentioned. On the internet I found that some hospitals have
> a drop-in
> support groups where mothers of babies of different ages
> starting from
> newborn are welcomed.
>  If you work in a hospital, do you have some meetings for
> breastfeeding mothers there? Some group education for new
> mothers? Or
> only individual work? Are mothers discharged so early that
> it makes
> group education impossible to organize?
> 
> Warmly, Victoria Nesterova,
> Kiev, Ukraine
> 
>          
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