A rooming-in program for mothers and newborns

Abstract

This report describes a rooming-in program based on allocation of resources to patients in accord with their health needs. It outlines the advantages of having the healthy infant kept with the mother continually during the puerperium. This promotes easier psychological adaptation of mother and infant, reduces the incidence of cross-infection in the hospital, encourages breast-feeding, and paves the way for providing the newborn with regular checkups at peripheral health centers. The report also points out the need to instill a strong instructional component into the roomin-in program. The basic elements of the overall program are maternal training based on indivisual instruction, group discussion sessions accompanied with instructional slides, and participation by the mother in the care of her infant under supervision of the midwifery team. The adoption of a program of this nature does not imply an increase in existing human and material resources, but rather a rationalization of the distribution of present resources and the added contribution of the mother's active participation in helping to care for her child (Au)