Staffing is also an issue with amount of observation for babies in
couplet care.  Nurses sometimes have as many as 6 couplets to care for.
If one couplet requires time consuming care (e.g. help with
breastfeeding, responding to an emergency, admitting a new surgical
patient), a considerable amount of time may elapse before another
couplet is seen.  The ideal frequency of observation may not be
possible.

Yes, babies do turn blue in nurseries, but in general, someone has her
eyes on every baby in the nursery frequently since it takes only a few
seconds to glance around the room to see if they are all ok.

Since many units were built as small double rooms, there are some
distinctive barriers to rooming in (and we know one of the reasons for
this, don't we?).

More challenges!

Bonnie Jones, RN, ICCE, IBCLC
form the sunny S.W. USA