Newborn question

[STA29]

How long should a person wait until they take their newborn out? The reason I ask this is I have lately seen many very young babies at carnivals, malls, etc. One lady told me her baby was 6 days old and she had her out at a carnival. I was under the impression that a newborn exposure to germs should be kept at a minimum for at least 6 weeks.

[iteachob, MSN, RN]

I don't get your point about pediatrician's advice on protecting a baby from infection and not supporting breastfeeding.

Poor support for breastfeeding (by Peds) is RAMPANT in my area. Sad, but true.

[Jolie, BSN]

Wow! That is sad. I hope the hospitals offer support in the form of classes, lactation consultants and adequate nurse patient ratios!

[iteachob, MSN, RN]

I really don't think that anyone advocates placing a baby in a bubble or under quarantine for 6 months. The advice to avoid crowds for the first 6 months is sound and is based on knowledge of the immaturity of the newborn's immune system and the very real risk of life-threatening diseases such as RSV. Ever spent the winter months working in peds or PICU?

I should have added that preemies with continuing respiratory issues are another matter entirely.

I never said that crowds were okay, and I did keep my kids from crowds. However, some moms will take the 6 month "avoid crowds advice" to the extreme, actually not letting the kid out of the house for 6 months. I've seen it happen.

Yup, I do know a thing or two about newborn immunity. I'm an ex- Level III NICU nurse.......nursing faculty in an RN program for the last decade.

[iteachob, MSN, RN]

Wow! That is sad. I hope the hospitals offer support in the form of classes, lactation consultants and adequate nurse patient ratios!

Don't I wish! With the exception of the county health department, there is little or no support for women wishing to breastfeed. The nurses at the hospital, particularly in the newborn nursery, seem bothered by the mom's who want to breastfeed. Eastern KY has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the nation.....it's so much easier to have WIC pay for your formula, you know? At least that seems to be the (deeply ingrained) mindset around here.

I apologize for going off on a tangent.

[Jolie, BSN]

[quote=iteachob;2944699

I never said that crowds were okay, and I did keep my kids from crowds. However, some moms will take the 6 month "avoid crowds advice" to the extreme, actually not letting the kid out of the house for 6 months. I've seen it happen.

You are right that some parents will take our advice to extremes, no matter what we say. I once had a mom (who was told that it was OK to take her newborn with her wherever she went) leave the hospital and go to a pool to meet friends. She actually had the baby in the water with her. (A post-partum mom and 2 day-old infant complete with unhealed umbilical cord! EEWW!) A family member called the nursery and asked us to speak with her. She refused to accept our advice, since her pediatrician had said it was OK. We had to get him on the phone to tell her otherwise.

[Jolie, BSN]

With the exception of the county health department, there is little or no support for women wishing to breastfeed. The nurses at the hospital, particularly in the newborn nursery, seem bothered by the mom's who want to breastfeed. Eastern KY has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the nation.....it's so much easier to have WIC pay for your formula, you know? At least that seems to be the (deeply ingrained) mindset around here.

It's difficult for me to wrap my mind around this, but I guess it shouldn't be. I have been fortunate to work in facilities (even 20 years ago) that supported breastfeeding in a number of ways.

One place in particular was actually a horrible place to work, with poor standards of care. But the director of maternal-child health spent big bucks on breastfeeding education for staff members, employed 2 breastfeeding nurses (not LC's, but they spent 8 hours a day helping inpatient and outpatient nursing mothers), and sponsored conferences for the public. I suspect that the motivation was to prevent the re-admission of infants for dehydration, jaundice and infections, which was a money-loser in our population. Regardless of the motivation, the support of these mothers was first-rate.