Referring to Chayn`s letter I too am amazed that Israeli hospitals still have this outdated separation during which mothers are transferred to the postnatal ward and babies to the nursery to be checked over and vaccinated.  Marsden Wagner (may he rest in peace) commented on this about 20 years ago when he was our guest at the Israel Childbirth Education Centre conference.He said then that in most of Europe there was no separate nursery except for babies needing special care, preemies, etc.
It reminds me of Michael Odent who in 1977 (!) wrote that after birth babies get “an overhaul like a washing machine,” cleaned and checked out.
There is absolutely no reason why mother and baby cannot be kept together and while immediate monitoring of both is done in the birthing room in order to detect/prevent any problems, then the routine neonatal tests can be done in the postnatal ward next to the mother or on her body.
I nevertheless think that it is natural for babies to be sleepy the first day because, like the mother, they have worked very hard for a number of hours.  But if the mother and baby are together, then she can pick up the baby`s cues and put him to the breast at first signs of wakening.
Wendy Blumfield
Haifa, Israel


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