>Hi, Heather,
>
>I can't speak for every hospital in the USA, of course, but I think baby
>baths are pretty standard here. HIV/AIDS is the reason.
Thanks Kim. You mean that's the reason 'they" came up with when people
started questioning the need for them : (
> the baby is brought
>to the admission nursery for eye ointment
Not done here routinely.
>Vitamin K injection
Done at bedside or drops are given in two batches, one at bedside one at home
> assessment of
>physical health and gestational age
done at bedside
>, blood sugars if the poor child has the
>misfortune of being over 8 1/2 pounds, et cetera.
Not done routinely and never at birth for a term baby
> Baby resides in crib under
>radiant warmer for at least 2 hours.
Not done here. I have seen warmers in the postnatal ward at the bedside
(but the babies would be better tucked up with mum, wouldn't they?.)
Jaundiced babies prescribed 'lights' are treated at the bedside.
>I KNOW that the HIV virus only survives for a few seconds in room air, and
>certainly that blood is not a problem once it has dried, but you're not going
>to easily persuade our staff to change this practice.
I can see that. It's institutionalised - and boy, does instititionalisation
ever work against bf???
A discussion a few months ago on the list revealed that while in the UK
there is a bunch of bad practice around bf support, this is something we
have got right. We do keep mothers and babies together, and most hosiptals
have no newborn nurserys.
Now, we have it right because of money issues - our National Health Service
is always strapped for cash, and keeping mums and babies together saves
money....bedside care when needed is no more expensive than nusery care,
either, and in any case if you have no nursery that's where it has to be
done.
But the side effect of saving money is that separation is a lot more
dififcult. And do you remember, too, we discovered that in the UK
engorgement is *almost unknown* nowadays in the first days?
It must be very, very hard working in an environment which has never been
designed for happy breastfeeding - with staff who take it for granted that
a baby can be away from mum for two hours just to be warmed.....: (
....artificially....: (...with a warmer....: (
Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK
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