>
>  Ours turned into a changing room and area with
> armchairs for pumping.
> That said, it is one of the paradoxes of modern care that we have mothers
> sequestered in an institution ostensibly for their own good, yet we remove
> them from the support they could get from their families, such as someone
> to hold the baby so she can have a shower, eat breakfast, sit on the toilet
> for more than 30 seconds, etc.
>



When I was a patient educator, I spent a lot of time talking with patients
and came to a very sad conclusion.  Very few mothers in my part of the US
have *real* support from thier families.  Too many times, I was asked by
the mother to get something for the Dad.  She was making sure he was taken
care of, not the other way around.  Many women are seperated from thier own
families, or don't have a mother who understands what a new mom needs.  Far
too many times, the mother's only respite was in the hospital.  I had one
mom tell me that she wanted other people to take care of the baby so that
she 'could pick IT up on the way out'.    I often wondered if this is
unique to the Southern US where women are expected to care for thier man
before they can care for the children.
In contrast, I spoke to several mothers from other countries who went on
and on about how much they missed thier families and the care they would be
recieving.  One mother told me that her mother would come to her house and
do everything for 9 months, including bathe her and the baby.

I fear that the whole 'rooming in' in this part of the country will cause a
big backlash from mothers who really don't have any other help in the
newborn period.  I think this speaks to a much larger issue of the role of
women in the family/world.

I still get nauseated when I think of the post partum mom who called me to
her room in the middle of the night to bring a blanket for her sleeping
boyfriend while the baby was in the nursery.  I think that, as
professionals, we have to asknowledge there are certain social dynamics
that we cannot get away from.

Melissa Senf, RN, IBCLC in SC

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