Huntington Hospital Helps Moms Bond with Newborns in the Critical Hours After Birth

Huntington Hospital introduces “couplet care,” a progressive care model for mothers and babies that improves mother-baby bonding immediately after birth.

Newborns can now receive much of their medical care, including tests, in their mother’s room at Huntington Hospital. “Rooming in,” as it’s often called, has been shown to lessen the potential effects of postpartum depression. It fosters bonding, giving the new family more confidence in caring for the baby as well as a better sense of the infant’s schedule. That intimacy also keeps the newborn calmer because the baby hears familiar voices. This method is a departure from newborns spending much of their time in the hospital’s nursery.

“Many of the mother-baby unit nurses and staff members are mothers themselves and as such we recognize the importance of bonding in those first few days and want to do all that we can to help that best happen,” said Jill Donnelly, RN, nurse manager of the Huntington Hospital mother-baby unit.

Huntington Hospital mother-baby unit nurses and staff have made a commitment to attend to each mother and child at their bedside and offer individualized care, moving away from the nursery model, where multiple babies can be monitored and cared for at once. Huntington Hospital’s nursery remains a functioning unit.

In addition to care from OB/GYN physicians, Huntington Hospital offers health care from midwives for expectant and new mothers.

For more information about Huntington Hospital’s maternity services, call 631-351-2356.