Table 1.

Child care practices and policies in Illinois birthing hospitals, Illinois birthing hospital child care survey, 2019 (n = 98)

Topic	N (%)
Has your facility identified child care as an issue/barrier?
Yes	65 (66.3%)
No	21 (21.4%)
Don’t Know/Missing	12 (12.2%)
Pregnant patients brought their children (0–13 years) with them for labor and delivery
Normal occurrence: Daily or weekly	36 (36.7%)
Not normal occurrence: Monthly or rarely	60 (61.2%)
Not sure/missing	2 (2.0%)
Patients on the postpartum unit had children (0–13 years) with them in their room for extended periods of time prior to discharge
Normal occurrence: Daily or weekly	20 (20.4%)
Not normal occurrence: Monthly or rarely	73 (74.5%)
Not sure/missing	5 (5.1%)
Children (0–13 years) of pregnant or postpartum patients are observed unattended (in patient room, waiting area, hallways, etc.)
Normal occurrence: Daily or weekly	14 (14.3%)
Not normal occurrence: Monthly or rarely	75 (76.5%)
Not sure/missing	9 (9.2%)
Resource(s)a available to assist families
Social worker watches children	13 (13.3%)
Volunteer watches children	17 (17.3%)
Administrative personnel watch children	15 (15.3%)
Nursing personnel watch children	47 (48.0%)
Community organization member watches children	6 (6.1%)
Someone on site who can help contact relatives or friends	48 (49.0%)
At least one of the above resources	71 (72.4%)
Is there a dedicated space for children?
Yes, labor and delivery	15 (15.3%)
Yes, postpartum	10 (10.2%)
Do you have a policy related to children accompanying adult patients?
Yes, formal, written policy	33 (33.7%)
Yes, informal, verbal policy or depends on staff present	12 (12.2%)
No standard policy in place	35 (35.7%)
Not sure/missing	18 (18.4%)

^aQuestion allowed facilities to choose all options that applied, so percentages do not add up to 100%