A New Beginning

Rooming-In

The best place for your baby is with you in your hospital room (rooming-in). It’s a great opportunity to get to bond with your baby. It allows you to practice skin-to-skin contact, learn your baby’s personality, and recognize their early hunger cues. Studies show that keeping your baby with you and practicing skin-to-skin contact increases your confidence in caring for your baby and makes the first few days at home easier.

Benefits to Rooming-In • Baby cries less and you can soothe them quickly • You get more rest and peace of mind • You gain confidence in caring for your baby with an experienced staff nearby • You can monitor your baby more easily • Improves breastfeeding success and increases

Although rooming-in is encouraged and recommended, your baby may need to be in the newborn nursery if they: • Require constant monitoring or observation by a nurse • Are having a circumcision • Need their vital signs monitored • Are being examined by a pediatric provider • Have an ill mother who is unable to take care of the baby AND there is no support person who is able to care for the baby

your breast milk production • Decreases the risk of SIDS

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages parents to practice rooming-in at home until the baby is at least 6 months old — and, ideally, a year.

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A New Beginning