Living together with a child Joint stay of relatives with a child in a hospital: how to apply. Application to the manager

Joint stay with a child in a hospital often becomes a topic of discussion and conflict. On the one hand, a small patient needs care, which the hospital is sometimes unable to provide. And the mood of the child, when one of the parents is nearby, is much better, which affects the healing process. On the other hand, often hospitals cannot provide conditions for the stay of loved ones with the baby. How to find a compromise and arrange it correctly.

Parents, other relatives and legal representatives have the right to be with the child when providing medical care to him everywhere - in the clinic, day or round-the-clock hospital, in an ambulance. And although Article 51 of Federal Law No. 323 refers only to cases when children are treated in a hospital, the Family Code of the Russian Federation states that “a child in an extreme situation ... has the right to communicate with his parents (persons replacing them) and other relatives. An extreme situation includes being in any medical organization (Article 55). The correctness of this approach is also confirmed by judicial practice. For example, the refusal of an ambulance team to transport a mother together with a sick child in an intensive care vehicle was declared unlawful by the appeal ruling of the Kaliningrad Regional Court dated 10/30/2013.
Relatives may stay with the minor in the hospital during the entire period of treatment. This rule applies to any age of the child, any disease and condition. Note that the term "when providing medical care in a hospital" cannot be interpreted as "only during the intervention." According to the definition in Article 2 of the Federal Law No. 323 - medical care - a set of measures aimed at maintaining and (or) restoring health. This complex also includes medical monitoring of the child's condition.
If the child is under four years old, the person accompanying him has one more right - the medical organization must provide him with a bed and food free of charge. The same obligation arises for the hospital in the presence of medical indications for a child older than four years. The cost of providing a bed and food is included in the cost of medical care provided to the child under the territorial compulsory medical insurance program (letter of the Ministry of Health of Russia dated December 21, 2015 N 11-9/10/2-7796).
Note that when the child's condition improves to "moderate severity", relatives will no longer be able to claim a free bed and food. But they will still have the right to stay with the child until he is discharged - in accordance with the internal regulations of the medical organization.
The rules of conduct in a medical organization should be publicly available. The best way out is, additionally, against signature, to acquaint the child's relatives with them. This will avoid conflicts and complaints, as well as justify their actions during inspections.

In them, a woman gives birth to a baby and stays until discharge. There are also cohabitation wards in the postnatal ward. These are one-, two-, maximum three-bed rooms, where there is everything you need to make mom and baby feel comfortable after childbirth.

But even 15 years ago, women could only dream of such conditions. And in general, women were inspired with the idea that after giving birth, mother needs to rest, sleep and restore strength. And let the baby stay under the supervision of medical personnel. So there are more chances that nothing will happen to the child and the pathology will be detected in time, if suddenly the child has it. Unfortunately, even today, the same advice can be heard from the lips of “caring” grandmothers. Of course, they can be understood, they just do not know that the first days after childbirth can proceed somehow differently. They also do not know that the early postpartum period is the most sensitive period in the life of mother and child. Therefore, nature itself intended them to be together. Otherwise, a lot of problems can arise. But let's talk about everything in order.

However, let's be clear right away. We will talk about the round-the-clock joint stay of mother and child, i.e. when, immediately after childbirth, mother and baby do not part and are together 24 hours a day. Any separation of mother and child, even the shortest, can have unpredictable results.

Let's start from a medical point of view. In the early postpartum period, serious health problems can develop for both mother and child. If they are not identified in a timely manner and properly resolved, they can lead to long-term negative consequences in their condition. Living together allows you to create the most favorable conditions for effective postpartum care and minimize the likelihood of postpartum complications.

What are the benefits of living together for mom and baby?

Benefits of mother-child cohabitation for mother

postpartum period- this is the time when the woman's organs return to their original state and lactation is established. Physiological changes occur 6-8 weeks after birth. The first week after childbirth is associated with the most serious changes: a basis is created for the restoration of a woman's health, and mutual adaptation of the mother and child takes place. In this regard, staying together with the child contributes to the physiological course of the entire postpartum period.

The uterus quickly returns to its previous size: this is facilitated by the frequent attachment of the baby to the breast. When a baby suckles, the mother releases the hormone oxytocin, which causes the uterus to contract.
Less risk of early and late postpartum hemorrhage: also due to the hormone oxytocin.
Breastfeeding is established faster and there is less likelihood of problems with breasts and lactation, women get milk faster and produce as much milk as the baby needs. In addition, living together has a positive effect on the duration of breastfeeding.
The routine practice of separating mothers and babies can negatively affect the duration of breastfeeding. All studies examining this issue showed that the number of mothers who stopped breastfeeding between one and three months after birth was significantly higher among those who were separated from the child after birth.

Benefits of mother-child cohabitation for the child

Most of the rules and regulations for postnatal care in hospitals that existed until recently were established to prevent or contain cross-infection and to prevent nosocomial infections. With the increase in the birth rate after World War II, maternity wards became overcrowded, and the problem of staphylococcal lesions of the skin of newborns arose. A variety of measures have been taken to reduce the incidence of infection, including isolation, a ban on entering children's wards without special clothing, bathing with the addition of medicines, and special treatment of the umbilical cord.

Children were immediately taken away from their mothers after birth and kept in the neonatal unit. This tactic, in which all the children lay in close proximity to each other, but separated from their mothers, increased the risk of infection. This was even proven in one study conducted almost 50 years ago. Babies who stayed 8 to 12 hours a day with their mothers were shown to have lower levels of seeding and infection compared to babies who were in a children's ward and had little contact with their mother. But half a century had to pass for the joint stay of mother and child to become routine in all maternity hospitals.

At present, it has been proven that the joint stay of the mother and the newborn for 24 hours in the same room is a kind of protective factor, since the newborn is seeded with mother's microorganisms, and not nosocomial strains resistant to antibiotics.

In addition, the lack of contact with other children reduces the risk of cross-infection of newborns.

Constant stay with mom and breast sucking on demand
contribute to the colonization of the intestines of the child with normal microorganisms and:

prevent the development of intestinal infections;
reduce the likelihood of developing severe jaundice;
contributes to a more rapid recovery of the initial loss of body weight;
allows the child, along with milk, to receive protective antibodies that strengthen his immunity.

Psychological benefits for mother and baby

Many studies have compared encouraging mothers and newborns to stay in the same room all the time with keeping mothers and newborns separate in the early postpartum period. It has been convincingly shown that when contact between mother and child is limited, mothers show less maternal feelings, are in a state of confusion and have lower self-esteem. This suggests that the separation of mothers and newborns increases the risk that first-born parents may not give their children the attention they need, and therefore take poor care of them. In one study, for example, it was shown that with the introduction of round-the-clock co-existence of mother and child in maternity hospitals, the number of child abandonment decreased!

In the conditions of a round-the-clock stay of a mother and a child, a mother quickly learns to understand the signals of her baby, his needs and quickly learns the rules of caring for him. So by the time she is discharged, she feels absolutely confident and is not afraid to do something wrong.
Cohabitation also allows you to strengthen the emotional and psychological bond between mother and baby, which began to form in utero and continues to exist after childbirth. This is very important for the psychological well-being of both.

It has been observed that mothers who are separated from their children are more likely to experience postpartum depression and psychosis. For the child's psyche, such a separation after childbirth is also a serious trauma that can have long-term consequences. Separation from the mother leads to the fact that the baby is in a state of chronic stress. As a result, violations of the adaptation process are possible, as well as deviations and delays in psychomotor development.

A newly born baby is in a state of anxiety. After all, the whole environment around him is unfamiliar to him. Mom for him is a source of sensations familiar and familiar from the prenatal period: her smell, voice, breathing and heart rate, the taste of colostrum, similar to the taste of amniotic fluid. When meeting in this unfamiliar world with familiar and pleasant elements, his anxiety decreases, and the world around him no longer seems so scary to him. Sometimes the whole life of a person passes under the sign of anxiety, which he cannot cope with at birth. The other side of anxiety is aggression.

Psychologists and child development experts argue that the destruction of physical and emotional contact with the mother is expressed primarily in the absence of a favorable impression of the world, the formation of a complex of resentment and anxiety, the destruction of self-confidence, difficult social adaptation and antisocial behavior.
Thus, 24-hour cohabitation is a vital necessity for both mother and child. Therefore, any causes that violate this unity must be eliminated.

What happens to a woman after childbirth?

It seems to me that the key point in choosing a ward should be woman's well-being after childbirth. Therefore, it is very difficult to predict in advance (if you are giving birth for the first time) which ward will be ideal for you. Fortunately, I did not give birth in an ordinary maternity hospital, and there I could freely choose to stay together or separate. And I could change my mind at any moment.

All births are different. Someone, a couple of hours after giving birth, is full of energy, dreams of new exploits and gallops around the ward like a young doe. And someone needs at least a few days to recover. Emotional Recovery. So it was with me. I felt so squeezed and broken that I could not even calmly rejoice at the baby. Thank God, I had the sense to choose a separate stay with the child. During these days I slept only two hours, although no one bothered me to sleep. It was just that my inner state was so agitated that I did not fall asleep, although I was dying of fatigue. After two days, the nerves began to calm down a bit. But then one midwife began to reproach me for choosing a separate ward. I immediately felt like a bad mother, felt guilty and transferred to a shared ward. I'm sorry I was in such a hurry. There was only one day left before discharge, but on this particular day I lacked until the final restoration. As a result, postpartum depression began in the hospital, I came home completely dead. And it began. Read more about getting out of postpartum depression in the article "Recovery after childbirth" and "Postpartum depression: a look after six months."

What are the benefits of being separated from a child?

If a woman feels well after childbirth, I am entirely for a joint ward. However, you need to soberly assess your strengths. After all the hospital is the only way to relax . The maternity hospital is almost a resort, especially in a paid room. It is better to gain strength now by entrusting the baby to midwives than to hysteria from the first days of life at home. A separate ward is needed only in extreme cases. But if you feel such a case. Send your guilt somewhere far away, do not listen to anyone and gain strength! The baby needs a calm and healthy mother.

Benefits of a shared ward with a child

1. From the first days you live with your baby! This is already a huge plus!

2. You study your baby, gradually get used to it. After all, in the hospital you do not need to wash and iron diapers, you do not need to do household chores. So, the load on you will increase gradually.

3. If no one will be at home with you for the first weeks, then this is the only option. After all, in the hospital you will be taught basic child care. In particular - to change diapers and swaddle the baby.

4. You will control everything that is done with the baby. More precisely, nothing will be done to him without your knowledge. You will be sure that he has a clean diaper on. And no one handed him a bottle of formula.

5. You will be able to feed your baby on demand.

6. It is very good for a child to be close to his mother from the first days.

When should you choose a separate room?

If after childbirth you feel that you are on the verge of hysteria.

When should I choose a cohabitation room?

In all other cases.

How hard is it to be in a joint room?

Everything depends on the child. Our baby had colic when she was in the hospital. Doctors indifferently shrugged, promising that it would pass by 3-4 months. Therefore, the first nights we did not sleep, but went crazy. If you choose a cohabitation ward, be prepared for this turn of events.

In what conditions were you immediately after giving birth? What do you think of shared wards?

Instructions for the joint stay of mother and child

Please note that this information is intended for specialists, but may be recommended for familiarization to future parents who are distrustful of the work of medical staff in maternity hospitals.

Instructions for the joint stay of mother and child (from the recommendation for specialists)

1. General provision
The joint stay of the puerperal and the newborn child in the ward of the postpartum department of the maternity hospital significantly reduced the incidence of diseases in puerperas in the postpartum period and the incidence of disease in newborns. The main feature of the maternity hospital (obstetric department) with the joint stay of the mother and child is the active participation of the mother in the care of the newborn child (swaddling, toileting of the skin and mucous membranes, feeding).
When the mother and the newborn stay together after childbirth, the contact of the newborn with the medical staff of the obstetric department is limited, the possibility of infection of the child with hospital strains of opportunistic microorganisms is reduced, and favorable conditions are created for the colonization of the newborn's body with the mother's microflora.
This mode ensures early attachment of the newborn to the mother's breast, active training of the mother in the skills of practical nursing and care of the newborn, increases the mother's sense of responsibility for maintaining personal hygiene and sanitation in the ward.
When the mother and the newborn stay together, they are placed in boxes or semi-boxes (for one or two beds). It is possible to redevelop the postpartum wards in previously built maternity hospitals into wards for the joint stay of mother and child.
The joint stay of mother and child can only be carried out in an ordinary, non-specialized maternity hospital; in such institutions, about 70% of puerperas of the physiological department in the postpartum period can stay with their children.
Each ward for the joint stay of mother and child is equipped with medical scales for weighing newborns. Next to the mothers' beds, individual bedside tables or shelves are installed for storing the newborn's linen and placing on them a tray with a set of medicines for caring for the skin and mucous membranes of the newborn (boric acid solution 2% - 10.0, tannin ointment 2% - 10 gr.) . The nurse of the department of newborns brings a pill with sterile material (cotton balls, bandages, cotton sticks) to each ward and changes the pill and a set of medicines as they are used, but at least 3 times a day. All rooms are provided with a container for disinfectants.
For the treatment of changing tables, bedside tables, scales, beds, the following are used: chloramine B - 1%, chloramine B - 0.75% with 0.5% washing solution, deoxon-1 - 0.1%, deoxon-1 - 0.05% with 0.5% detergent, sulfochloranthin-0.2%, dichlor-1 - 2%, chlordesin-0.5% (wiping objects - twice).

2. Contraindications to the joint stay of mother and child
Contraindications on the part of the puerperal are:
- late toxicosis of pregnant women;
- extragenital diseases in the stage of decompensation;
- surgical interventions in childbirth;
- rapid and prolonged childbirth;
- long, more than 18 hours, anhydrous interval in childbirth;
- the presence of fever during childbirth;
- tears or cuts in the perineum.
Contraindications for a newborn baby are:
- prematurity;
- immaturity;
- long-term intrauterine fetal hypoxia;
- intrauterine hypotrophy of the fetus II-III degree;
- intracranial and other types of birth trauma;
- asphyxia at birth;
- developmental anomalies and deformities of internal organs;
- hemolytic disease.

3. Organizational arrangements
2 hours after the birth and examination of the newborn child, the pediatrician, head of the maternity unit, and in his absence, the obstetrician-gynecologist on duty, allows the transfer of the puerperal and her newborn to the ward of joint stay, which is recorded in the history of childbirth and the history of the development of the newborn.
The midwife on duty delivers the newborn to the mother's ward and hands it over to the nurse of the neonatal department. The time of transfer to the nurse of the child and the condition of the newborn (the nature of the cry, the color of the skin, etc.) are noted on the first sheet of the history of the development of the newborn and are certified by the signatures of the midwife and the nurse of the neonatal department. If the child's condition worsens, he is immediately transferred to the appropriate ward for intensive observation and a decision on his subsequent place of stay.
The first toilet of a newborn child and care for him on the first day is carried out by the nurse of the department of newborns and the mother. The nurse teaches the mother how to care for the newborn, emphasizing the importance of following the sequence of processing the skin and mucous membranes of the child (eyes, nasal passages, washing); teaches the mother how to use sterile material and disinfectants. To wash the child, soap for individual use, which is always with the mother, should be used. For other purposes, this soap is not used.
Control over the stump of the umbilical cord and the umbilical wound is carried out by a pediatrician. When the umbilical cord falls off and as prescribed by the doctor, the umbilical cord is processed by a nurse.
To bypass the pediatrician in each ward, the nurse prepares:
- a sterilization box with sterile materials (balls, cotton wool, cotton sticks, bandage);
- sterile tweezers for taking sterile material and one for each newborn child for treating the umbilical wound;
- a container with ethyl alcohol 95% - 2 ml;
- a container with a solution of potassium permanganate 10% - 2 ml;
- a container with a solution of hydrogen peroxide 3% - 2 ml.
Entering the pre-box (ward), the pediatrician and the nurse, after washing their hands twice with soap and warm running water, put on gowns that are allocated for each ward and changed daily.
The nurse provides the puerperas with the necessary number of sterile diapers (25 pieces per day for 1 child). The collection of used diapers in each box (ward) is carried out in tanks with lids, or pedal buckets with cotton or oilcloth covers embedded in them. After swaddling is completed, the duty nurse or nurse collects the used linen together with the covers and (through the shaft) lowers it into the room for sorting and collecting dirty linen. Wet cleaning is carried out in the ward. The nurse strictly monitors the timely change and use of disinfectant solutions in each ward, teaches mothers how to use them.
The storage of stocks of medicines, drinking solutions and sterile material, the acquisition of sets for the care of newborn children, the storage of development histories of newborn children are organized in a specially dedicated working room for nurses. Medicines are kept under lock and key.

Coexistence of mother and child

Today, perhaps, you will not find in our country such a maternity hospital, where conditions would not be created for the joint stay of mother and child. In many maternity hospitals, family delivery rooms have been created, which, in their appearance and level of comfort, resemble hotel rooms.

What are the benefits of living together for mom and baby?

Benefits of mother-child cohabitation for mother

The uterus quickly returns to its previous size: this is facilitated by the frequent attachment of the baby to the breast. When a baby suckles, the mother releases the hormone oxytocin, which causes the uterus to contract.

Less risk of early and late postpartum hemorrhage: also due to the hormone oxytocin.

Breastfeeding is established faster and there is less likelihood of problems with breasts and lactation, women get milk faster and produce as much milk as the baby needs. In addition, living together has a positive effect on the duration of breastfeeding.

The routine practice of separating mothers and babies can negatively affect the duration of breastfeeding. All studies examining this issue showed that the number of mothers who stopped breastfeeding between one and three months after birth was significantly higher among those who were separated from the child after birth.

Benefits of mother-child cohabitation for the child

In addition, the lack of contact with other children reduces the risk of cross-infection of newborns.

Constant stay with mom and breast sucking on demand
contribute to the colonization of the intestines of the child with normal microorganisms and:

prevent the development of intestinal infections;

reduce the likelihood of developing severe jaundice;

contributes to a more rapid recovery of the initial loss of body weight;

allows the child, along with milk, to receive protective antibodies that strengthen his immunity.

Psychological benefits for mother and baby

About the benefits of staying together with a child in a maternity hospital

I gave birth to a baby girl in December. True, she did not give birth in Moscow - I am from Vladivostok. I chose the maternity hospital with a program of joint stay with the child immediately after the birth. Many friends, my sister and mother, who had already given birth, advised me to rest after childbirth better than to mess around with the child, not yet strong. Good thing I was smart enough NOT to take their advice.

I gave birth to a baby girl in December. True, she did not give birth in Moscow - I am from Vladivostok. I chose the maternity hospital with the program of joint stay with the child immediately after childbirth. Many friends, my sister and mother, who had already given birth, advised me to rest after childbirth better than to mess around with the child, not yet strong. Good thing I was smart enough NOT to take their advice.

I gave birth easily. That's just the placenta and the baby's place have grown. I was given anesthesia, and for another two hours after that I was moving away from it. The elevator did not work and I went to the ward on foot. More precisely, I was practically dragged by two young nurses. Arriving in the room, I collapsed on the bed. They said that they would bring the child to me as soon as I recovered well from anesthesia.

I slept soundly. I could not lie on my right side - everything ached and hurt. Constantly thinking about the child - what's wrong with him and how. Some time later - already, apparently, late at night, they brought me a child, saying: “You will feed the child or not. And then she cries so much, she wants to eat! I said what kind of thoughts they had and that I, of course, would feed her - there were no questions, and that I would not only feed her, but I would already leave her with me - I couldn’t do it alone anymore. And that's it. Since then, we have not been separated.

It was hard. The girl sucked all the time, and while there was no milk (one colostrum) I suffered a lot - my chest hurt from constant irritation (sucking). They say it can be worse - cracks, but God had mercy on me. It can be seen correctly breast gave. I had to go to the toilet in the corridor and I left the child alone (I had a separate room). Well, when my husband came, at least I could leave calmly, and not “run” - I could hardly hobble.

But now I thank myself for going through it. Firstly, because I did not have milk stagnation, and there was and is milk (God forbid); secondly, the uterus contracted the next day so that I could be discharged. And thirdly, I myself swaddled and changed the baby (although I could hardly stand) and when we were discharged from the hospital, we did not even have a hint of diaper rash. And it’s unlikely that I could calmly stay in the ward, knowing that somewhere, far from me, in the children’s department, my child is lying and, maybe, crying, or that he is supplemented with formula (this is not uncommon, but it happens almost always in maternity hospitals - doctors just hide it. I think there is no need to explain the harmfulness of this “supplementary feeding” while mom has milk!)

Just don't think that I'm an experienced mom - no! This is my first child, my first experience, a very desirable child, although I am only 20 years old. I really knew what I was getting into at what they say is an “early” age. I just didn’t give birth to a child in order to be, at least for a couple of days, excommunicated from him. This is my bloodline! And I love my Alexandrushka. Very much.

I want to advise mothers to choose maternity hospitals only with cohabitation. Let it be hard - this is at first, but then you will understand that this is right for you and for the child!

Together or apart? Joint and separate stay in the hospital with the baby.

In Soviet times, there was no problem of choice. They gave birth like everyone else and took care of the children like everyone else. Now, fortunately, you can choose a maternity hospital that meets all the ideas of a future mother about quality medical care. One of the important selection criteria is the joint or separate stay of the child with the mother immediately after birth. Both options have pros and cons. Which? More on this below.

How does this happen?

When a baby is born, in almost any modern maternity hospital, the first thing they do is apply it to the mother's breast for a few minutes. Then the newly-minted mother is given a rest from 2 to 4 hours. Further - the baby remains in the children's ward and meets with his mother only during feedings. Or - goes immediately to her caring, but sometimes not yet experienced hands. It depends on the way mothers and babies stay in a particular maternity hospital. It can be separate or joint.

In the first case, the woman who gave birth goes to the ward, where from 2 to 6 more mothers are with her. There she comes to her senses and after 2-4 hours, in accordance with the feeding schedule in the maternity hospital, they bring her a baby for the “first date”. Half an hour or an hour, then the nurse collects neat bags and takes them to the children's department. If the maternity hospital is small and there is a short distance between departments, then mothers hear babies crying in the children's ward when they are undergoing medical or hygiene procedures. Many children already at this age have such a special voice that the mother through several walls recognizes him in the general choir.

If the maternity hospital practices the joint presence of mother and baby, the child is brought to the ward to the mother 4 hours after birth. Provided that the birth went well and the mother does not need additional medical care. And from that moment on, it's all by itself. Joint wards are usually designed for no more than three mothers and, accordingly, three children. A nurse comes to treat the babies' umbilical wounds and wash their eyes. In some cases, when the mother leaves for medical procedures or goes to relatives (if allowed in the maternity hospital), she can leave the baby with the nurses in the children's ward. In good maternity hospitals with attentive staff, you can get answers to all questions from the doctor and nurses. But in an ordinary average institution, you sometimes have to run around for an answer to every question (and a newly-made mom has a lot of them).

Separate finding: rest or worry?

There are pluses here and are connected, first of all, with the convenience for the mother. She has the opportunity to relax, recover after childbirth, sleep. Every 6 hours, the nurse brings the child and leaves for a maximum of an hour. That is, a total of no more than 6 hours - so much time the baby spends with his mother. The rest of the time the kids sleep. Or nurses do procedures for them. Mom can only guess: “How is the baby, is it crying, is it hurting him?”

Sometimes being separated is the only option. It depends on the condition of the mother.

Does the system work like clockwork?

The system of separate stay of mother and baby has long been practiced in maternity hospitals. Doctors and nurses act "on knurled". There is a daily routine: feeding, changing clothes, blood sampling, vaccinations. Mom does not need to worry that a vaccine is prescribed, and the baby is sleeping. If the maternity hospital has been practicing such a system for decades, all the staff are used to it and there are almost no failures.

Therefore, if you choose between a good maternity hospital with a separate location and a so-so maternity hospital, but with a joint one, I would choose the first. And now I will explain why.

Unfortunately, in some cohabiting maternity hospitals, having rebuilt the form, they forget about the content. Moms rushing along the corridor and catching a nurse with the question: “What to do?” in the newly appeared "joint" maternity hospitals are not uncommon. Explain, show - nurses do not always have enough time for this. Another banal flaw is lunch for mothers. If you don’t have time to come for dinner in time, you will be left without it. And this is for a nursing mother "not to eat well."

If you decide that cohabitation is what you need, choose a maternity hospital where such a system has been worked out for a long time, and was not introduced just yesterday (or last year).

Cohabitation: benefits

Recently, the joint presence of mother and baby in the hospital has become increasingly popular. Fortunately, despite the difficulties that were mentioned just above, in many maternity hospitals the system has taken root and works well. Here are the opportunities that she gives to a young mother and a newborn:

Communication with the closest person. The baby is surrounded by mother's care from the first hours. In fact, he doesn't need anything else. He is calm and serene.
Baby care skills. It is almost always possible, if not immediately, to ask a nurse or pediatrician a question about child care. Such mothers come home already prepared and relatives are surprised: “How cleverly you cope with the baby, as if you have been doing just that all your life!”
Mom is calm that the child receives only breast milk or strictly defined, and not some unknown food. “How is he without me, is he crying?” - these questions, when separated, also add anxiety. Here, everything is under control.
Joint stay in the very first hours is useful for breastfeeding. The baby is always with his mother and can get a breast whenever he wants. Milk comes faster and in the right quantities. The need to supplement the mixture disappears almost immediately.
Frequent attachment to the baby's breast in the first days after childbirth is also beneficial for women's health. When the baby suckles the breast, the uterus contracts more actively, returning to its normal state. This means that the process of recovery of the body after childbirth is faster.

I had the experience of both joint and separate stay with the child in the maternity hospital. With the eldest son - an ordinary maternity hospital with a separate stay, with the middle one - the same maternity hospital, but in a joint ward, with the youngest - a maternity hospital specializing in the joint stay of mother and baby. I have experienced all the pros and cons of each option. The conclusion I can draw is this: of course, it is better together. When the baby is nearby 24 hours a day, even mothers of first-born children turn into caring and skillful parents right in front of their eyes. As for the need to sleep, in the first week after childbirth it is quite possible, even being next to the baby, since he sleeps a lot himself.

Of course, everything is individual. It is not always possible to choose the option of staying in the maternity hospital: together with the child or separately. In this case, you should not be upset, because the hospital is only a few days. At home, in a calm environment, you can relax and make up for everything that, in your opinion, you and your baby lacked in a medical facility.