• The Mom/Baby Connection, part of the Home Care departments at Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Delaware County Memorial Hospital, provides in-home nursing care to new parents and their babies within a few days of discharge from the hospital. 
• Mom/Baby Connection nurses are experienced in Maternal/Child medicine and provide services to both mom and baby. Among the services provided are wound care, perineum checks and breastfeeding help for moms, and complete health and feeding evaluations for newborns. Nurses can also check for jaundice in the babies.
• Mom/Baby Connection visits are covered by most insurance plans.

For many new moms and dads, the fog of early parenthood is as frightening as it is exciting. In between visits from relatives and countless photos of the bundle of joy, parents can fear the worst: Is my baby eating enough? Is my C-section wound healing? And will I ever get a decent night’s sleep again?

Fortunately, the hospitals of the Crozer-Keystone Health System have a convenient way for new parents to have all of their questions answered, in the safety and comfort of their own homes. The Mom/Baby Connection, part of the Home Care departments at Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Delaware County Memorial Hospital, provides in-home nursing care to new parents and their babies within a few days of discharge from the hospital.

“With insurance companies only covering 48 hours of in-hospital care, patients’ ability to access a nurse to assess her and her baby has been lessened,” says Jane Hanahan, director of Home Care for Delaware County Memorial Hospital. “Our nurses go directly to the patients’ homes to provide the physical assessments the babies need, as well as the coaching and reassurance that the parents need.”

The nurses of the Mom/Baby Connection are specially trained in maternal/child medicine, and visits from the nurses are covered by insurance plans.

A typical Mom/Baby Connection visit begins with a thorough physical assessment of mom and baby. Included for the mother are checks of the breast and perineum, as well as any scars from a Cesarean section. Babies are weighed, have their vital signs recorded, and are assessed for jaundice and other complications. Nurses will also speak with parents about the baby’s eating habits and special care for babies who need oxygen, monitoring or medications.

If a baby is suspected to be jaundiced, nurses can obtain a blood sample using a simple heel stick. The nurses will then work as a liaison between the lab, the equipment company and the patient’s physician to ensure proper therapy is administered.

“We also visit with moms-to-be who have conditions like gestational diabetes and pregnancy-induced hypertension, and work with them to manage their conditions,” says Leslie Wray, R.N., IBCLC, a nurse with the Mom/Baby Connection. “For example, we teach moms with gestational diabetes how to use a glucometer and monitor their nutrition, and teach them or a family member how to give insulin. Moms who are at risk for preterm labor are taught how to administer their medications.”

Most patients using the Mom/Baby Connection need just one visit to establish the health and safety for both mother and child. Patients with medical complications or ongoing problems may require more visits. Typical sessions can last from one to seven visits. 

While the overwhelming majority of mothers and babies who are visited by the Mom/Baby Connection nurses receive a clean bill of health, the need to re-admit patients surfaces about once every month or two, according to nurse Carol Messick, R.N., B.S.N.

“Recently, I met with a new mom who had some previous blood pressure problems,” she says. “She wasn’t on any medications, but she had been up all night with a crying baby, and her blood pressure was up slightly. I reassured her, but as I left, instinct took over and I called her physician. She was taken to the emergency room with a blood pressure that had shot up 20 points, and she spent the next seven days in the hospital.”

When health and safety checks are complete, Mom/Baby Connection nurses take time to educate their patients about all aspects of parenthood, from breastfeeding or bottlefeeding concerns and sleep-pattern questions, to the importance of making and keeping pediatrician appointments and the use and care of specialized medical equipment, if needed.

For the most part, moms and their babies are able to enjoy the visits from the Mom/Baby Connection nurses with no complications.

“For a new mom or dad, the first few days home with their baby can be exhilarating and terrifying, all at the same time,” says Flo Firlein, director of Home Care for Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital. “For most of them, the Mom/Baby Connection nurses provide them with the little extra reassurance they need to see that everything is just fine. When extra medical intervention is needed, they are able to get it thanks to the efforts of the nurses. It’s very rewarding to see the difference that each of the Mom/Baby nurses — just like the other dedicated Home Care nurses — can make to each patient they visit.”

To learn more about the Mom/Baby Connection, call (610) 447-2360 (Crozer) or (610) 284-0700 (DCMH).