Upon entering Holy Family Hospital’s Maternity Department, one can see the uniqueness of the setting. The central nursery is missing, and very seldom does one hear a baby cry. Husbands and wives are seen together in the hallways and rooms. The unit itself is separate from the rest of the hospital giving confirmation to the belief that pregnancy and childbirth are normal processes and not pathologic conditions.

Holy Family Hospital’s maternity department is operated on the concept of “Family-Centered Care” and the department attempts to bring a home-like atmosphere into the hospital. It combines the physical facilities and professional services of the hospital with the psychological and social factors of the home by treating mother, father, and baby as a family unit, the most important unit in society.

How are these aims accomplished? In the majority of conventional maternity departments, the husband must bid his wife good-bye at the entrance to the labor room area. From there he is usually relegated to a “father’s waiting room” for a number of hours. At Holy Family Hospital it is felt that the father has an important role to play during his wife’s labor and he is welcomed as warmly as is the prospective mother.

In early labor (if the parents have not attended preparation for childbirth classes) the husband and wife are taught what to expect and what they both may do. Emphasis is placed on the mother’s ability to relax, through the use of various breathing techniques. Many parents, particularity those who have attended parent education classes, wish to share the experience of the actual birth of their child. If the individual doctor allows this and if the father is prepared and the mother is conscious and cooperative, attendance in labor is permissible and even encouraged.

Couples have found that sharing in the birth of their child, can be a wonderful and meaningful event and many come to this hospital because they desire to participate in this kind of experience.

From the birth of the baby, it is a very short step to the “rooming-in” units where the new family will spend its first few days together. Each mother’s room has a small nursery adjoining it. The nursery is for the use of the baby during visiting hours or whenever the mother needs to rest or relax. The baby may stay at the mother’s bedside as much as the mother desires.

In these units the father is not considered a visitor. He may come and go anytime, during the normal waking hours. Other visitors are limited to an afternoon and an evening visiting period. The husband may hold his baby, and take part in its care much as he would at home. The rooming-in concept is based on the premise that mothers, fathers, and babies adjust to each other more easily when they are together from the start of their relationship.

A mother has first hand experience in the care of her baby and she learns by observation how the baby behaves and acts. (This eliminates some of the shock upon going home!). At the same time, professional people are available to give actual care, teach, or assist the mother in her learning.

Parents are very pleased with Family Centered Care. Student nurses are frequent visitors to the unit because this is the kind of care they study about but seldom see in action. Other interested persons and prospective parents are always welcomed to tour the facilities.