HI to all,
      Willow brought up a subject I have long had strong feelings about!
 That of leaving babies with their moms/parents in the hospital so they may
gain confidence in their ability to care for the infant.  As is pointed out
to me by the staff I have worked with in more than one hospital, it is many
times the parents who wish the baby to go back to the nursery, not nursery
protocols.  Many mothers consider their hospital stay a vacation of sorts
before they take up their mothering duties and don't want their babies with
them all the time.  While I don't think we should "push" their babies on them
(how is this even an issue?!), my counterargument is that we act in the best
interest of the baby to place him/her with their mother where bonding can be
facilitated in a safe environment.  In essence, if the mother has these
feelings of wanting to be separated from her baby, all the more reason, for
the baby's sake to keep them together!  I have worked on a small OB unit
where 24 hr rooming in was not an issue, it was policy!  When people came to
our unit to see babies, they were usually disappointed because they were
always with moms!  We never had problems with moms not wanting their babies
with them.  I think it's all in the way the unit presents this policy, ie as
routine practice not an "option".  We usually felt good sending those
families home knowing they had spent their time with us learning to take care
of each other.  I wish we could get this philosophy more widely accepted and
I would love to see data on family violence r/t breastfeeding and active
promotion of bonding.
Yours for a healthier world,
Marsha Puckett RN IBCLC
Evansville, IN