We have come a long way since the days when babies were whisked away from their mother at birth to be bathed and wrapped before being presented back as a brand-new packaged bundle. For much of the 20th century, nurses cared for babies in a “well baby nursery”, giving them back to their mothers for regimented feeds.
These days, the naked baby is placed onto its mother, skin to skin, immediately after birth. This keeps baby warm and allows the mother to respond to baby’s cues and to initiate breastfeeding. Babies are then kept with their mothers for on-demand feeds.
Genuine, appropriate and ongoing support is often difficult to find.
