Simple change protects the 'golden hour'

The importance of the 'golden hour' after birth is well documented but not all mothers and babies are able to enjoy this bonding time if the newborn infant needs to taken away to the neonatal department for treatment.

Now, for the first time in Scotland, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow has made some changes that mean more mothers are able to remain by their baby's side.

Thanks to some innovative thinking, babies who would have been separated from their mothers for medical treatment are now being treated at the bedside. Neonatal medicine consultant Dr Lesley Jackson explains: "Skin-to-skin contact between the baby and parents can support the establishment and maintenance of breastfeeding; it also supports bonding and is a time for the new family to get to know each other.

"Until recently, babies who were at risk of infection were taken from their mother within the first hour to receive IV antibiotics, something that was done in the neonatal unit. This probably affects about 20-22 babies a month. It affects women who are suspected of developing sepsis. National guidelines recommend in such situations that antibiotics are given to the baby within an hour of the decision to treat."

In late 2016, the team at QEUH Maternity looked at alternatives that meant babies could stay with their mums while this treatment was carried out.

Dr Jackson continues: "Now, the neonatal team comes to the labour ward room or recovery and the baby gets to stay with its mum the entire time. By challenging how we do things, this has benefitted families and also reduced the numbers coming into the neonatal unit.

"We have had great feedback from families, with dads feeling more included as they are able to get involved in the treatment of their baby."

News of the programme has spread and midwives Mary Hannaway and Rhona Wilson, who were central to its development, have been shortlisted for a UK-wide RCM award.