Family-Centered Care
Family-Centered Care focuses on the needs of the mother, infant, and families.
It is a partnership that honors the strengths, culture, traditions, and
expertise that everyone brings to the relationship.
Baby-Friendly
Launched worldwide in 1992, the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a
joint project of WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF.
The goal of the initiative is to recognize hospitals and maternity centers
that show their commitment to providing a positive environment for breastfeeding
mother by fulfilling rigorous standards.
Whittier Hospital Medical Center is working towards achieving this prestigious
designation.
Couplet Care
Couplet Care is a model of care where the mother and infant are cared for
by the same nurse, in the mother's room. This facilitates:
- Breastfeeding
- learning of infant feeding cues
- parenting skills
- promotion of family attachment and bonding
Rooming-in
Rooming-in means the newborn baby stays with the mother in the mother's
room throughout the hospital stay unless medically contraindicated.
Whittier Hospital Medical Center promotes the standards of care that are
family-centered. We practice the Couplet Care/Rooming-In model.
Advantages of Couplet Care and Rooming-In
- Baby sleeps better being with mother
- Decreases infant stress hormones
- Breast milk comes in sooner
- Infant feeds more often
- Increased rate of exclusive breastfeeding
- Assists in nurse-patient teaching
- Improves parents' ability to recognize infant feeding cues/hunger
Vaginal Deliveries
Babies who are delivered vaginally will be kept with their mothers up to
two hours in Labor & Delivery.
The infant will be immediately placed skin-to-skin and the mother encouraged
to breastfeed. Mom and baby will be taken to post-partum, unless medically
contraindicated.
Cesarean Sections
Babies delivered by cesarean section will be shown to their mother, placed
skin-to-skin for a short period of time before moving the mother to the
Recovery Room.
The baby will be transported by the nurse to the Nursery and kept there
until the mother is fully recovered. The father or significant other is
also encouraged to provide skin-to-skin contact with the infant.
Rooming-In will start when the mother is fully recovered and transferred
to the Postpartum room and the infant is stable.
The goal is to reunite mother and infant as soon as the mother is medically
stable and has returned to her room.
Cesarean sections may be performed in the operating room suite on Labor
and Delivery, or in the main operating room suite in Perioperative Services.
Infants Separated from Mothers
If mother and infant are separated for medical reasons, such as Phototherapy,
mother or father can provide skin-to-skin contact. The mother may breastfeed
in the Nursery if medically stable.
Maternal/infant skin-to-skin contact will be started as soon as they are
reunited and documented in the medical record.
Breast Feeding
Mothers will be taught to use a breast pump and hand expression within
6 hours of separation from her baby. The colostrum, or breast milk, obtained
by expression will be given to the baby unless contraindicated.
Mothers will be encouraged to begin pumping as soon as it is medically
feasible and will be taught to pump at least 8 times in 24 hours and document
on a pumping log.
Education and printed information regarding handling and storage of breast
milk will be provided.
If the infant requires a higher level of care, the infant will be transferred
to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at another facility. The father
or significant other may bring the stored breastmilk to the infant until
the mother is discharged.
Evidence-based research has shown that breast milk provides the best nutrition
for infant feeding and is also beneficial for mom. This is the standard
of care at Whittier Hospital Medical Center.
For more information, please call 562.945.3561 ext. 8450, 1773, 1774 or
email us at whmc4u@ahmchealth.com