Relief for parents as maternity hospital creates a family ward for sick newborn babies
Parents wishing to stay with their unwell newborns can go to the Shanghai International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital's Fengxian District branch as the hospital now has such wards for them.
The branch, which opened in September, has to date provided nearly 90,000 outpatient and emergency services and delivered over 1,000 children, allowing rural residents to access high-quality obstetric and gynecological care close to home.
The hospital opened its outpatient clinic for genetic illness consultation, pre-pregnancy, and a newborn infant family ward to improve service and create a chain of prenatal, prematernal, and postnatal care.
The family ward that allows parents to stay with their hospitalized newborn baby.
The first patient in the family ward was a 26-year-old mother.
"When the doctors said my baby needed to be hospitalized due to an infection, I was very concerned. Then I learned about the family ward.
"The doctors and nurses have also provided me with a wealth of information and training on baby care," said a woman whose surname was Zhu.
According to Dr Liu Zhiwei, the family ward for newborn babies is a new management format that includes disease diagnosis and treatment, health care, and baby nursing instruction.
"Young parents play an active role in their baby's treatment and care," Liu said.
According to studies, parents' presence, particularly early-stage contact with newborn babies, has a significant impact on children's growth and development.
Previously, newborn babies were hospitalized alone for reasons such as premature birth and neonatal jaundice. The family ward may solve the problem because parents are now permitted to stay with the baby all the time.
During the hospitalization period, doctors will provide training to new parents on topics such as breast feeding, baby skin care, and baby touch.
