Part of the joys of being pregnant is looking through the library and
bookstores at birth, breastfeeding and parenting books.  I would say that
the recommendation for rooming-in is in about 1/3-1/2 of the books out
there.  If you only read books on Natural Childbirth, Attachment Parenting
or LLL publications, the recommendation for rooming in is about 100%.  I
agree that some parents do not know the benefits of rooming in, but even
those who do often choose to send their baby to the nursery for a few
hours a night (sometimes with the instruction to feed "just one bottle" or
bring to Mom only after three hours, regardless of hunger cues).

In addition to promoting the benefits of rooming in etc., we should also
be highlighting the dangers of sending the baby to the nursery.  My top
four are (in chronological order):

Missed feeding cues- due to client to staff overload leading to either a
baby in a state of panic and is so upset s/he cannot latch well, or a
lethargic baby who should have fed, but went back to sleep before the
overworked nursery/floor nurse noticed the feeding cues and is now very
difficult to wake.

Missed feedings- due to being overfed "just one bottle" or a quiet "good"
baby who sleeps 4+ hours.

Delayed and/or reduced milk supply- due to lack of skin-to-skin and breast
stimulation.

Unhappy, "disorganized" babies- due to too much crying, not enough nursing
and general suffering from "Mommy withdrawl."

I am sure there are many more dangers of sending your baby to the nursery-
additions anyone?


  At my most recent employer, most parents toured the nursery during the
middle of the day.  Often in the nurseries (we had a couple) at that time
of day, there are only one or two babies present.  Everything is very
peaceful, calm, and the nursery attendant (sometimes an RN, sometimes a
nursing assistant) has very little to do, so she is rocking a baby.  They
are unaware that at night the nursery is at capacity!  Our big nursery
regularly had 20 babies on the night shift (one night I counted 27
babies!).  With that kind of staffing (one nursery nurse plus the floor
nurses, who breeze through and look after "their" babies), and client load
(5-7 mother-baby couples for each nurse), babies in the nursery get a
minimum amount of attention.  Crying is the only cue anyone has time to
notice and even that might be ignored if the baby has been fed, changed
and swaddled recently.  Needless to say, that if you are a breastfeeding
advocate, and you think babies need to be cuddled in addition to being fed
and changed, the nursery quickly becomes your definition of hell.



Charity Pitcher-Cooper BSN, RN, and thankfully unemployed mommy to be;-)
(Who was very surprised to see that at Barnes and Noble that the number
five reading purchase of people who had recently bought Jay Gordon's
parenting book was "Babywise").

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