Well Baby Care: The Nurse's Job?

The traditional content of the well baby examination has changed to include more health screening, emotional support and educational input. It has been suggested that the well baby care should now be done by nurses. Fifty-five mothers surveyed at the University of Western Ontario indicated that for them, the nurse was as important a source of information as the doctor. In some cases, such as advice on the telephone, nurses scored higher than doctors; however, younger mothers appeared to view the nurse less positively than older mothers did. Experienced mothers viewed the nurse more positively than did first-time mothers. Results suggest that mothers' perceptions would be compatible with a new and expanded role in well baby care for the family practice nurse.