Ah, but mother friendly involves before the birth and during the birth where mum is a single unit not a double unit -with baby. Hospitals are rarely mother friendly, there are individuals who try to facilitate a mother centred experience but usually this goes against the policies in place that are institution focused.
One thing that needs to be addressed is how we can make a post operative cs mum be able to access her baby without having to call the already busy and over wroked midwives on Post natal ward. Nothing is more crushing than wanting to hold your child but physically unable to move to pick them up. Bending, picking up and even rolling on the side all involes movement of the abdominal muscules...the ones most traumatised after cs. I laid there for hours dying inside wanting to hold my son when he cried, and when I cried. Calling the mw seemed 'too selfish' as she was so busy to just come and pick baby up. Catering for dads more is a great idea. LOVE the idea of extended stay but not suitable for those with children already at home. SA has amother acrer program run from Lylle Mac hospital. That is a great service based on the Dutch model of caring for women at home. Got to go to work now! Jo -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Barbara Glare & Chris Bright Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 5:33 AM To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Mother friendly hospitals Hi, I really disagree that baby friendly hospitals are OK for the baby but tough on the mother. And if your baby friendly hospital is tough on the mother, then you should be looking at why - because it shouldn't be that way. The newborn mother and baby are a unit. They both surely need to be cared for as though they were one. I think it's part of the problem of society that mothers and babies are pitted against each other almost from birth. Mothers and babies are both usually happier and calmer when together. If a mother is of the believe that she needs the baby away from her to rest, a common enough belief in our society, maybe all that needs to happen is a little empathy and good explanations from the staff "I know you are tired, but what we find is that mothers and babies actually rest better when they rest together." Just like you would explain to a mum that she doesn't need to rush off straight away and have a shower - there'll be time for that later. Her baby needs to smell her familiar smell and get to know his mum (and breastfeed) Surely hospitals can be flexible enough for staff to take the baby for a while if needed - carrying in a sling is great modelling for the mum and keeps baby calm, or dad or grandma can help out. For every mother I hear when I'm assessing baby friendly hopitals who say they would have liked a nursery, I hear many, many more whom the staff told that they must be tired and they would take the baby so the mother could rest - the mothers lay unsleeping and rigid in their beds, worrying if that baby they could hear crying was their baby. Barb ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au> Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 12:27 AM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Mother friendly hospitals > Wouldn't it ? > I always say baby - friendly is OK for the baby but often it's really > tough on the mothers. > We ought to be able to do service to both, compromise being the operative > word. > The old days of 'lying in & convalescing' were good for mothers & babies, > I agree with the previous post about too much being expected of new > mothers. Especially after a C/S which after all is major surgery. > Yes, birth is a natural process but never the less it's exhausting, hard, > manual & mental labour. Women need to recover & recuperate to cope with > the demands of mothering, feeding & running a household. > The old 'lying in hospitals ' were not such a bad idea were they ? In fact > I've often thought of the need for a private facility offering those > services nowadays. Like an extended stay unit where women go post birth > for 1 or 2 weeks & get fed,nurtured, educated, assisted with feeding, > shown postnatal exercises, encouraged to rest, have massages, see > naturopaths re healing remedies if needed etc. > In fact Wholistic Care !! > > What do you think ? > Idealistic ?? > > > >> Dean & Jo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> > Ahhh! > mother friendly hospitals...now that would be worth pursuing! > > -- > No virus found in this outgoing message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.4/175 - Release Date: > 11/18/2005 > > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > > -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.4/175 - Release Date: 11/18/2005 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.4/175 - Release Date: 11/18/2005 -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
