Perhaps it was appropriate that it took nine months for the new nursery to open at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital.

The West Tennessee Women’s Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the occasion Tuesday on the A3 Mother/Baby Floor.

The nursery provides “baby friendly” best practices promoting the greatest opportunity for bonding between mother and baby.

“This nursery is the total package,” Tina Prescott, chief nursing officer at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital said. “We are the largest hospital in West Tennessee, and we deliver 3,100 babies each year.”

Prescott said some of the best practices offered include Couplet Care, Skin to Skin Contact and breastfeeding support and education.

Couplet Care, or rooming-in, is the practice of mothers and babies staying together during their entire hospital stay, regardless if the mother is breast- or bottle-feeding.

Skin to Skin encourages mothers to hold their healthy babies with skin to skin contact as soon as possible after birth in an unhurried environment.

Deena Kail, executive director of the West Tennessee Women’s Center and Ayers Children Medical Center, said providing support for new mothers has been at the forefront of the hospital for some time.

“The West Tennessee Women’s Center has always been dedicated to providing mothers the information, support, confidence, and skills necessary to successfully breastfeed their baby or to bottle feed them said,” Kail said. “Routines such as immediate skin to skin contact, 24-hour rooming-in and learning baby’s cues are also beneficial to babies and parents regardless of feeding choices.”

(PHOTO: From left – Chris Welsh, OBGYN; Tina Prescott, chief nursing office; Tammie Berry, director of OBGYN floor; Dr. David Watlington, OBGYN; Deena Kail, executive director for the Women’s Center and Ayers Children Medical Center, and James Ross, interim CEO, West Tennessee Healthcare)

David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomas@WNWS

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