Rooming-in at the hospital: assessing the practical considerations. (Special Issue).

Publication: Mothering

Publication Date: 01-SEP-02

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COPYRIGHT 2002 Mothering Magazine

Many mothers share a bed with their babies in the early months of the infant's life, particularly for breastfeeding. Although this practice is controversial among health professionals, it has been found to be beneficial in several ways: It reduces sleep disruption caused by frequent nighttime breastfeeds, promotes breastfeeding by encouraging frequent suckling, facilitates continued breastfeeding, soothes fractious infants, and promotes sleep for mother and baby. (1,2,3,4,5)

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Many hospitals are now making a commitment to "baby-friendly" practices that encourage the early establishment and continued promotion of breastfeeding. Some are also developing policies on "bedding-in"--mother-infant bedsharing on the postnatal ward. (6) In addition, baby-friendly guidelines require hospitals to allow mothers uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact for at least half an hour following delivery, to encourage breastfeeding within the first hour, and to advise mothers to keep their babies close to them at all times. (7) The obvious extension to this practice is to help mothers maintain skin contact with their infants by bedsharing on the postnatal ward.

By allowing mothers to comfort, feed, and care for their babies in bed, bedding-in may assist the establishment of breastfeeding while helping mothers get more rest. (8,9) In one British hospital, introduction of a bedding-in policy resulted in a halving of the rate of supplementation with artificial formula. (10) Hospital bedding-in policies can provide a framework of guidelines through which some mothers can be allowed, even encouraged, to keep their babies in bed with them, both day and night, while on the ward.

There is currently no published research on the effects of bedsharing on mothers and infants in the immediate postnatal period, either in the hospital or the home environment. There are a number of well-known contraindications (smoking, alcohol consumption, use of drugs that affect sleep) and safety issues (careful use of duvets and pillows, avoidance of soft sleeping surfaces and sofa-sharing) relevant to bedsharing at home. But there are other factors that come into play on the hospital ward, from simple aspects of the physical environment (e.g., height and width of the hospital bed) to the complexities of how analgesics used during delivery affect both mother and infant, including whether or not...

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