There was an interesting discussion yesterday on Twitter about having babies in the hospital and how some hospitals no longer offer nurseries, but instead require the newborns to remain in the mother’s hospital room. No sending baby off to the nursery for the night.

The conversation kicked off when @lauriepuhn sent me the link to her story about a friend who gave birth recently in a hospital in NYC and was surprised to find out they had this policy:

My friend asked why and the nurses told her it’s because they believe in “skin-to-skin” contact between the mother and baby. “But for 24 hours a day?” she asked. “Can’t you take him for an hour so I can rest?” No.

My Twitter reply to Laurie was “What?!?!” I was surprised. I didn’t know that hospitals were starting to do this. I think some moms need the break. (FYI, I’ve heard from some readers that this is the norm in other countries, but it isn’t here in the US.)

Then @midwifeamy tweeted:

Total rest is similar whether rooming in or separated, and separation has negative health & emotional effects.

Then @karenebayne weighed in with, among other things:

That’s what’s making me crazy about birth world right now. Not enough happy mediums …

And @drjengunter, OB/GYN, tweeted this:

Level 1 nurseries now less common overall, not saying I agree, but combo of pressure from [breastfeeding] groups, space, $ is my guess …

and @aureliacotta tweeted this:

Actually, this was developed at the request of moms. Family Centred Care programs all do this, and it works well.

and she added this:

They [rooming in programs] have dramatically lower rates of PPD when moms + babies are kept together in the same room, even new NICUs do this.

and @walkerkarraa disagreed, tweeting:

Not for moms with [perinatal mood and anxiety disorders]. It is different.

Here’s what I think.

I don’t believe (though I haven’t seen the research @midwifeamy and @aureliacotta mentioned) that rooming in at the hospital prevents PPD. This is no offense to them – I just don’t believe it for one second. I don’t think the two things are related at all, to be honest.

I don’t think a mom who is going to get PPD or anxiety is going to be prevented from getting it just because she had her baby in her room with her at all times right after childbirth. I don’t see a direct correlation between rooming in and PPD. Conversely, I don’t think a mom who is going to get PPD or anxiety is going to be prevented from getting it because she sends her baby away to the nursery the entire time so she can get some rest. Which would make sense because, as I said, I don’t think there’s any direct correlation between rooming in and PPD, positive or negative. I’d be interested in how the research was conducted and on whom it was conducted.

Had my son been in my room with me for the entire time after I had him, it wouldn’t have helped my already developing postpartum OCD one bit. I PROMISE you that. It could be that there’s a difference between mothers who have more postpartum anxiety and OCD versus mothers who have postpartum depression. I have no idea.

In the end, I think the issue of rooming in, or not, is mostly about the mother’s unique personality and needs, and I don’t think it has much to do with causing or preventing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. I think the people who prefer to have the baby in the nursery for a while (or some other option for having someone else care for the baby for a while) should have that choice. I think moms who want to have the baby in their room at all times should have that choice.

Each of these very smart women, all of whom I respect, has a unique viewpoint. I know my own view is shaded by my personal experience and the anecdotal experience of others. I want to know what you think. Apparently more hospitals are taking this approach. What is your opinion on this?

• Is it more important for moms and babies to have that early skin to skin contact?
• Should moms have the choice to have “time off” from their newborns, regardless of whether they do or do not get better rest while the baby is away?
• Does rooming in prevent PPD or anxiety, or would it have in your case?

Editor’s Note: The tweets I shared with you above are just a representative sample of the conversation. It was a very positive conversation, and much more was said than just these few citations. I just wanted to give the general gist.

Photo: Fotolia - © nyul