A charter to prevent separation between the hospitalized newborn and his or her parents

The Secretary of State for Children, the association SOS Prema and the Business Française de Neonatalogie (SFN) presented on November 17, 2021 the charter of the newborn hospitalized whose main objective is to avoid the separation of the infant with its parents.

Built in 10 points around the essential needs of the baby, this charter is based on the

attachment theory

which attests that, in order to have optimal social, emotional and cognitive development, a newborn must establish an ongoing relationship with its parents. Thus, the charter provides for the continued presence, 24 hours a day, of at least one of the parents with the child, or a person of trust. It promotes the creation of the bond of attachment of the baby with its parents (physical contact, daily skin-to-skin contact, rocking, voice exchanges, feeding). The charter sets out the involvement of parents in care and recognizes their protective role in the management of infant pain in close cooperation with caregivers.

The charter will be disseminated in 490 neonatal services in France. It is a continuation of the first 1 000 days, at the center of a new prevention policy.

See the Charter of the hospitalized newborn.