Keeping Families Together

Keeping Families Together

We encourage families to keep their newborn with them in the room during their stay at a Memorial Family Care Birthing Center.

Skin-to-Skin Contact

Nursing staff will be present at the time of delivery to care for both mother and newborn during this transition, promoting immediate skin-to-skin contact with the newborn.

Importance of Keeping Your Newborn with You

Research has shown many benefits of keeping your newborn with you:

  • Babies are more content and cry less when they stay in their parents’ room. They organize their sleep-wake cycles more quickly. Babies staying in their parents’ room experience 35% quieter sleep than infants in the nursery.
  • Babies in the nursery are exposed to more light, more noise, and more time in the crib compared to babies who stay with their parents.
  • Though during hospitalization mothers may not get as much rest, in a short time, they will experience better rest as their newborns have established better sleep patterns.
  • Quiet time alone with your baby promotes bonding. Holding, touching, and talking to your baby allows you an opportunity to bond and to learn about communication cues from your newborn.
  • Breastfeeding is more successful when the baby stays near you. Within the first hour of life, we will encourage you to hold your baby skin-to-skin and make gentle attempts to start breastfeeding.