How do you encourage rooming in???

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2003

It seems to me that back in the day that moms also had more support when they went home from their moms and friends. Some cultures the mom and baby are in bed for a wekk after delivery while everyone waits on them hand and foot!

But back to this teen. It is the norm for someone at this age to be selfish. That's what teenagers do, think about only themselves. Unfortunatly they also pro create more and more these days.If anyone thinks this baby will get tender loving care and is breast fed exclusively for the next two years. I want to know where you are so I can move there!

fergus51 · Oct 21, 2003

rntg, even if dad can't stay, I have seldom had a woman without a support person overnight, whether that is grandma, her friend, her sister, etc especially the first night. Obviously we don't chuck a baby in with mom after a c-section with no one else in the room to help her. It is in mom's best interest to keep baby in the room with her, especially if she is a first time mom. There is just too much to learn in a very short period of time. Moms who are having their 2nd child are a little different, but in my experience a lot of first time moms have no clue as to how to care for their babies. If they want to go home early (and most do want to) they need to be educated quickly.

Moms do need rest, so we encourage them to sleep when baby does (and most sleep for a good period after their first feed), and severely limit visiting hours so that they are actually getting rest instead of entertaining guests. But study after study has shown that rooming in is in the best interest of moms and babies. It isn't just a matter of staffing, it's a matter of evidence based practice. And to be honest, I think we have medicalized childbirth enough already. Mothers all around the world look after their children with help from family and friends, not by nurses in a nursery with schedules and routines. I think well baby nurseries are somewhat unnatural. The only moms who have really complained to me about not having a well baby nursery are those who expected one because they had a previous child way back when, and those that are extremely young and immature. A lot of moms would like 8 hours sleep (WHO WOULDN"T?) but understand why rooming in is the norm.

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 21, 2003

i had no support person to look out for me the 3 nights i was hospitalized after my csection. i am a military wife 2000 miles from home..dh had to go home in the evening to take care of my son.

yet i made it....cause i had to. i did not expect to have nurses do my baby care for me because my husband was not there. i assumed that responsibility on my own. but then i was a mature mother who had the emotional wherewithall to do this. this teen like many, does not.

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 21, 2003

i have had countless patients visit with scores of people all day long and of course they are exhausted. i always advise them to limit visitors, even offer to be the "bad guy" asking people to leave so mom can rest. they visit all day long, and then cry all night cause they are exhausted. well i can't drop everything i am doing for my other couplets and labor patients for people who disregard our advice. they sooner or later learn to set limits on their time, especially with newborns at home.....but it begins in the hospital after their babies are born, really. if only they would listen.

BETSRN · Oct 21, 2003

Get a social service consult or a Parent Aide in on your teen. That's what we would do.

BETSRN · Oct 21, 2003

RNTG, I have seen more than one baby completely screwed up by that line of thinking. You were lucky, that's all, not to mention the fact that you ahd a confidence that most new moms do NOT have. Sorry to put in my two cents worth, but as far as the formula thing goes, giving bottles at nioght is just asking for trouble for most babies.

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2003

Okay, maybe Im a little nieve here, but I was sooooo upset when they took my babies away from me for even a few minutes for a test. With my c-section, I had mag and other stuff running, so I was a little out of it for a while but as soon as I was able to realize that he wasn't rooming with me... I MADE them bring my child back. With my second, he only left my side once..... yes I was very tired after 3 days of labor, but I had to learn sometime how to care for my own....I remember they do have a nursery, but what I remember most is hearing all those babies cry all night that were in the nursery. What I think is everyone is different and makes their own choice...

The teen parent definatly needs referals.

rntg · Oct 21, 2003

BetsRN-

Since I am not an OB nurse I will go with your expertise. I guess most of us with children in their teens have screwed them up for life because we supllemented bottles at night in the nursery and even at home, and actually were a little self indulgent in wanting to take care of ourselves so we could take care of them. In my opinion, we are raising a generation of self indulgent kids whose parents cater to their every whim, and don't know how to take no for an answer...but that is for another discussion. Its just a totally different mindset. I personally didn't want anyone with me at night (mother, sister, friend, husband), I needed my private time. the nurses did bring the baby in after the first night to nurse, promptly returned to take them back, as I said I wasn't allowed to be asleep with them in my arms or in the bassinet, they had to be back in the nursery. Its all in how you are prepared for the experience, now that it is the norm the new moms know going in that thats the way it is. I agree on the whole visitor issue, while it was much too stringent with my first child..packing everyone in in an hour was exhausting, this open visitor policy is just as exhausting. You are just not there long enough, and you need all the rest you can get there. there is plenty of time for visitors at home. Everyone and their brother are allowed to visit these days. I only visit very lose family and friends in the hospital, and the I only stay for about 5 minutes, just long enough to let them know I care and then I see them at home when they are ready. I just thought I would let you know in my first post how the new mom herself feels, and it seems everyone has a different experience.