Rooming-in and cultural practices: Choice or constraint?

Abstract

This paper examines the policy of rooming-in which is in place in most public maternity hospitals in Australia. Rooming-in is the practice where the baby is placed in a cot beside the mother's bed and is cared for by the mother whilst she is in hospital. It has been argued that rooming-in may strengthen the mother-infant bond and lead to the early establishment of breastfeeding because the mother will have close contact and involvement with her newborn from birth. The policy should, therefore, benefit most new mothers and their newborn infants. Is this the case, however, for women from cultures whose beliefs and practices differ from Western norms? This paper addresses this issue and argues for a more flexible policy when providing care to women, particularly those from Asian backgrounds in multicultural Australian society.