Preparing for Your Hospital Stay

Rooming In:

It’s good for you and your baby to stay in the same room, day and night, for your entire hospital stay, unless a medical need requires separation.  

Think about a trusted adult who can stay with you in your hospital room at all times to help support you as you learn to care for your newborn.  

You may feel fatigued and drowsy due to the effort of giving birth or from pain medicines.  Breastfeeding can also make you sleepy due to the hormones released when feeding your baby.  

If you feel unable to safely care for your infant, ask hospital staff for extra help.

Benefits of rooming in:  

• Easier to learn your baby’s feeding cues
• Easier to feed any time your baby is hungry
• Easier to bond and get to know each other
• Helps you learn to care for your baby
• Encourages milk production
• More rest and sleep for you
• Less crying for your baby 

Baby's First Bath: 

Your baby’s first bath can happen right in your room!  It’s actually helpful to wait a little while, so your baby has time to adjust to life outside the womb. 

These materials were developed by the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute with collaboration from students in the Mary Rose Tully Training Initiative and lactation consultants at N.C. Women’s Hospital.  We would like to thank the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for their generous support of this and other projects that foster a breastfeeding-supportive society.  

For more information please visit, http://breastfeeding.unc.edu. Version 3. English April 2018, last updated August 2024