Mother-newborn couplet care: Nordic country experiences of organization, models and practice

Abstract

Mother-Newborn Couplet Care is a concept and is defined as the provision of care for a sick or preterm newborn in close proximity to and coupled with the care for the mother from the birth of the infant and for as long as the mother needs hospital care. This concept of care requires system change in both obstetrics and pediatrics in terms of the planning and organization of care, equipment and design of units. Accordingly, strong leadership setting clear goals and emphasizing a culture of cohesive care, supported by targeted education and training is crucial to ensure high-quality care of all mother-newborn dyads without separation. We describe various organizational models of Mother-Newborn Couplet Care used in Sweden and Finland and implementation processes. We envision a future where newborns and mothers are always together, irrespective of medical needs, and form an inseparable center around which healthcare services and providers are organized.

New policies on skin-to-skin contact warrant an oxytocin-based perspective on perinatal health care

“…Fetal care is not only the responsibility of the obstetrician, and hands-on neonatal intensive care should begin in the labor ward in SSC with the mother. Neonatal care on mother should continue wherever else her medical condition requires, until both are in the Mother-Newborn Care Unit ( Chellani et al, 2022 ; Klemming et al, 2023 ). Obstetric and midwifery care should continue in the neonatal unit.…”