[Rooming-in at the maternity department. Results of a questionnaire-action]

The authors report from the Univ.-Frauenklinik in Giessen, where rooming-in was first introduced in 1976; the newborn baby's bed is now put in the mother's room. When 171 outpatients, who had never heard of rooming-in, and 81 patients in the maternity ward were consulted, the women agreed to a trial period for rooming-in. It was shown that more than 70% of the women would have prefered a clinic where rooming-in was possible to a traditional type clinic. This tendency was particularly strongly felt among women with a higher level of secondary education and among women who held the view that the fathers should be more involved in the family and in the upbringing of small children. The results of individual questionnaires showed that support for rooming-in was significantly strong on the grounds of interhuman relations; also, the rejection of the traditional mother-image was apparent. Reasons for the introduction of rooming-in, as well as the difficulties involved in putting it into practice are outlined.