CINCINNATI -- Having a baby is hard work. No one would dispute the fact that labor and delivery often leaves mothers exhausted and in need of some time to recover.
But if that new mom was counting on a few hours of peace and quiet while her baby rested in a nearby nursery, she might have to think again: Depending on which local hospital the mother and newborn are patients in, a newborn care nursery might not be an option.
Locally, the trend of keeping babies in the same room as their mothers is nothing new. Birthing suites -- in which a woman labors, delivers and recuperates in one room -- are commonplace. Whether or not a baby nursery is available, though, just depends on the location.
St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Edgewood, Kentucky, hasn’t offered a newborn nursery since 1999, after receiving its “Baby-Friendly Hospital” designation from the World Health Organization. With a focus on promoting breastfeeding and mother/newborn bonding, there are currently 359 hospitals and birthing centers across the country classified as “Baby-Friendly.”
Teri Wilde, nurse manager at St. Elizabeth, said the staff does everything it can to educate new mothers on what to expect, which includes mother and baby sharing a room for the duration of their stay.
“We really believe in rooming-in, and it really helps the mom and baby bond,” Wilde said. “The babies know their mom’s heartbeat and smell. It makes them more comfortable. It helps the baby sleep better, eat better and helps the parents know how to parent. If the baby is in the nursery for three days and then you go home, you’re like, ‘Oh, what now?’ ”
In Ohio, hospitals are required by the Department of Health to have a newborn nursery. Kimberly Pickens Baughman, a divisional director of women’s health at The Christ Hospital Medical Office Building in Mt. Auburn, said about 30 to 40 percent of new mothers request their baby go to the nursery for up to two hours at a time.
“We always ask, 'What is the basis for the request?'" Pickens Baughman said. “We teach and practice safe sleep, so we want to teach parents how to rest with their baby in the room with them, how to soothe and comfort the baby and how to recognize hunger cues from other cues. If (the parents) are exhausted and request respite, we do take a baby to the nursery, always telling the parents we will bring the baby back when he or she exhibits hunger cues. It is essential to teach the parents the babies’ cues, whether hunger or other.”
For hospitals with the WHO's “Baby-Friendly” designation in Ohio, like Mercy Health's Anderson and Fairfield hospitals, caregivers encourage breastfeeding and rooming-in, but patients do have access to a nursery if necessary.
“We don’t get the request for a nursery often,” said Jennifer Lipke, nurse manager in the family birth center at Fairfield Hospital. “Promoting family bonding, healthy nutrition and increasing the duration of breastfeeding -- all of which are supported by both rooming-in and 'Baby-Friendly' -- will have an impact on our infant mortality rate.”
Ohio’s infant mortality rate was 6.8 in 2014 (the most recent year data was available). That means out of every 1,000 births, 6.8 infants died before their first birthday. The national rate is 6.0.
“We want to have better outcomes as far as helping the mother and baby bond and the whole family unit,” Wilde said.
