The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

March, 1951 The Health Bulletin 13Clothes should be changed and the bodycleansed after each day's operation."REPORTS ADVANTAGES OFROOMING-IN PLAN FOR INFANTSRooming-in, the practice of keepingthe newborn baby in his mother's roomInstead of in the hospital nursery, isadvantageous to infants, parents andgrandparents as well as to pediatriciansand hospital administrators, writes Dr.Angus McBryde of Durham, N. C, inthe Journal of the American MedicalAssociation.Dr. McBryde, pediatrician at DukeHospital and Duke University School ofMedicine, reports on the success of therooming-in plan at the hospital since itwas initiated three years ago. Dioringthat time, 2,067 infants have been bornat the hospital with 1,862 of them beingsuccessfully kept in their mothers'rooms. The 205 babies, only 10 per cent,who were not kept In their mothers'rooms suffered from abnormalities orthe condition of the mother was consideredunfavorable to such an arrangement.Giving a brief history of the developmentof hospital nurseries, Dr. McBrydebrought out the fact that before 1890,babies were always kept in their mothers'rooms. However, the high incidence ofinfection in mothers made it necessaryto remove the baby from close contactwith the mother and nurseries werecreated.. Today, as a result of modernobstetric methods infection in newmothers is rare and the advantages ofkeeping an infant close to his mothersuggest a return to the practice ofroomrng-in.The infant. Dr. McBryde said, benefitsfrom the close physical contact with hismother by helping him adjust to hisnew world."Only by having him constantly nearthe mother, where she can hear andsatisfy his demands, can he be withoutdiscomfort or distress," he added. "Weencourage the mother to feel that cryingrepresents the infant's need for her,in terms of either warmth or food, andso the infant may be taken into herbed at any time.""The early closeness of the parentchildrelationship, as it is initiated inrooming-in," he went to to say, "may bethe first step in forming the properclose family relationship." He believesthe strict adherence to rigid forms ofchild training and lack of affectionatetreatment are often factors resulting inaggressive, maladjusted children.The advantages of room-in for themother begin, according to the article,"with the satisfaction and delight inmeeting and handling her baby early."Formerly, the article continued,mothers, as well as fathers, after returninghome were afraid to handletheir baby and were bewildered andanxious about his perfectly normal reactions,such as sneezing and crying,when he wanted anything from attentionand food to a dry diaper.In contrast, the procedure at DukeHospital is to bring the child directlyfrom the delivery room into the mother'sroom where he is kept in a bassinet ather side during her entire stay at thehospital.During the first 24 hours, staff memberswatch the infant closely as themother has often received sedatives oris exhausted. At the end of 24 hours,however, the mother is usually ambulatoryand may aid in the care of thechild if she wishes.Dr. McBryde reports almost "universalapproval" of the rooming-in plan bymothers in both the wards and privaterooms. Very few mothers, he said, failto take advantage of the opportunity tohelp care for the baby.Caring for the infant is made convenientfor the mother. All equipmentfor the baby is kept on an enamel trayon a table near her bed. The plan hasbeen found to be satisfactory and approximatesthe usual home arrangement.Dr. McBryde said.The fact that mothers now have moreconfidence in their ability to care fortheir children as a result of the rooming-inarrangement is shown by the 90per cent decrease in telephone calls fromnew mothers during their first week athome, he pointed out.