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