New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules
He - Department of Health and Human Services
Subtitle He-P - Former Division of Public Health Services
Chapter He-P 800 - RESIDENTIAL CARE AND HEALTH FACILITY RULES
Part He-P 802 - RULES FOR HOSPITALS
Section He-P 802.31 - Obstetrics

Universal Citation: NH Admin Rules He-P 802.31

Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024

If a hospital provides the services of obstetrics, then:

(a) The unit shall be exclusively designed for maternity patients and their newborn infants, except that gynecological patients, with no communicable diseases, may be admitted when the need exists only as determined by hospital policy;

(b) The department head shall be, at a minimum, a registered nurse with education, training, and experience in obstetric nursing;

(c) A pediatrician or family practitioner shall direct the medical care of newborn infants;

(d) Personnel assigned to the unit shall be free of infections and shall not be assigned to care for any other patients who might present a hazard of cross-infection;

(e) The unit shall employ or contract with nurses qualified by obstetrical education, training, and experience and in numbers adequate to meet the needs of each patient;

(f) The unit shall be physically separate and arranged to prevent traffic from other areas of the hospital to pass through the unit;

(g) The unit shall have facilities for the following functions:

(1) Antepartum care for patient stabilization;

(2) Fetal diagnostic testing such as amniocentesis, ultrasound, oxytocin stress tests and non-stress tests;

(3) Labor observation and evaluation;

(4) Labor;

(5) Delivery;

(6) Postpartum care; and

(7) Neonatal care;

(h) The functions listed in (g) above may be combined in a single room or separated into separate service areas;

(i) If the functions listed in (g) above are in separate areas, the following shall apply:

(1) Labor rooms shall include toilet and hand washing facilities in or immediately adjacent to the room;

(2) Delivery rooms shall be in close proximity to the labor rooms;

(3) Drugs and equipment necessary for emergency treatment of mother and infant shall be available in the delivery room;

(4) Occupancy in rooms for postpartum care shall be limited to 2 patients; and

(5) Lavatories shall be either in the room or available without accessing a general corridor;

(j) If the functions listed in (g) above are combined, the rooms shall include the following:

(1) Each room shall be equipped for all types of deliveries except Cesarean section births or any delivery requiring general anesthesia;

(2) Each combined function room shall have a toilet and shower room attached;

(3) Lavatories shall contain facilities for hand washing, and infant bathing; and

(4) Each combined function room shall have windows;

(k) Care of infants who have shown no complications shall be provided either in a newborn nursery area or in the mother's room;

(l) If nursery care is provided:

(1) Each newborn nursery room shall contain no more than 16 infant stations. When a rooming in program is used, the total number of bassinets in these units may be reduced, but the newborn nursery shall not be omitted in its entirety from any hospital that includes delivery services;

(2) The hospital shall maintain a continuing care nursery for hospitals that provide continuing care for infants requiring close observation, such as, low birth-weight babies who are not ill but require more hours of nursing than normal neonates, the minimum of 120 square feet per infant station;

(3) Labor and delivery room(s) shall have a minimum clear floor area of 340 square foot with a minimum clear dimension of 13 feet. This shall include an infant stabilization and resuscitation space with a minimum clear floor area of at least 40 square feet. Each labor and delivery room shall be for single occupancy; and

(4) Cesarean/delivery room(s) shall have minimum clear floor area of 440 square feet with a minimum dimension of 16 feet. This shall include an infant resuscitation space with a minimum clear floor area of at least 80 square feet;

(m) The number of bassinets shall exceed the number of obstetrical beds by 25% and, if intensive neonatal care is provided, the number of bassinets shall be increased by an additional 10%;

(n) Emergency equipment for resuscitation shall be readily available and in operable condition;

(o) Equipment for care of at risk infants shall be available;

(p) The unit shall have the ability to provide isolation for infants with contagious diseases or infections; and

(q) Care of infants, either born in the unit or transported to the unit immediately after birth, shall include:

(1) Use of a prophylactic in the infant's eyes in accordance with RSA 132:6; and

(2) Provision for accurate identification of infants.

#9580, eff 10-24-09

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