Rooming-in

After birth, the baby is often removed from the mother not considering that most of the interactions that will affect the newborn’s life are in close relation with the time he will spend with his mum.

An early mother-infant contact will positively affect the relationship between them, the maternal attachment process, the success of breastfeeding and above all it will strengthen the capacity to face stressing situations.
Furthermore, the mother with her bacteria will facilitate a bacterial colonization, vital for the baby to defend himself against diseases.

What is rooming-in?

Rooming-in is the practice whereby a mother stays with her newborn throughout the period of her postnatal hospital stay. Rooming-in has proved to hold psychological benefits and it promotes greater bonding giving the mother the opportunity to learn and develop confidence in feeding and caring for her new baby.

Mother and baby are separated only to allow nurses and doctors to give the baby the necessary medical assistance she needs but at the same time they have also the greatest task to do not be too intrusive and let the mother feel free to show her personal emotions after birth.

It is extremely important that the mother is given proper support by nurses when she is welcoming the baby with the right discretion and attention especially if specific clinical conditions of both mother and infant don’t allow the mother to take care autonomously of her baby.

According to a wider meaning of Rooming-in it is possible to include in the same room the dad and other family members so that if the mother needs some rest they can hold and take care of the baby.

Positive aspects

Undoubtedly, the practice of Rooming-in allows to carry out the close symbiosis that lasted 9 months and that both mother and infant need to be in contact with each other since the very beginning.

Furthermore, taking care of her baby as soon as possible means for the mother to familiarize with the daily problems (sucking, breastfeeding, nappy changing, etc..) and face them easily also counting on the precious help of nurses.
A further positive aspect of Rooming-in is the possibility to count on the maternal instinct to promptly recognize a possible newborn’s neonatal adaptation syndrome and any signs of possible pathologies. In this way, it would be possible to promptly intervene.

Moreover, Rooming-in is proved to be a valid organizational pattern to encourage breastfeeding in particular the so called “on demand” that means feeding the baby whenever she is hungry.
In doing so the need to assume additional liquids apart from mother’s milk reduces considerably and it may represent an occasion to establish a deep mutual relation between mother and infant.

How long should the Rooming-in last for?

Every mother is free to decide whether to practice the Rooming-in and its length; indeed no rules from medical staff are actually imposed in this respect.

It is also scientifically proven that the more time the baby spends with her mum, the less the infant is confused by different sensory stimulus: just enough to think that newborn babies have a overdeveloped sense of smell (they recognize mum’s and maternal milk smell) and a restricted field of vision of 20/30 cm that actually is the distance between mum and baby’s eyes when she is attached to breast.

“Open nursery”: a valid alternative

A valid alternative to Rooming-in may be the "open nursery": it means that nursery’s rooms become accessible at any moment to mums and dads who can enjoy a prolonged contact with their baby.

The "open nursery" allows first-time parents to get the proper experience and practice in taking care of their baby as regards hygiene, umbilical cord treatment, breastfeeding and so on along with nurses and doctors’ support.
In addition, this practice also allows the mother to have some rest and a moment to dedicate to her family whenever she desires.