Senator Pia Cayetano clarified that hospitals are legally required to allow new mothers and their babies to stay together immediately after birth.
In the “Yes or No” segment of the November 3 episode of CIA with BA, Annika of the Mariteam shared her experience of giving birth, noting that her baby was briefly taken to the nursery before being returned to her. She asked if a law mandates this practice.
Cayetano responded affirmatively, explaining that this protocol is part of the Rooming-In Law, authored by the late Senator Edgardo Angara. She recalled that as Senate colleagues, Angara advised her on how to amend the law when she introduced breastfeeding legislation.
“He told me, ‘Pia, I have a law on rooming-in. They are related, so you should amend my law,’” she shared. Cayetano explained that under the Rooming-In Law, newborns are given to their mothers for natural bonding to promote breastfeeding. “Studies show that even with blurred vision, babies instinctively move towards their mother’s breast,” she added.
CIA with BA airs every Sunday at 11 p.m. on GMA7, with replays on GTV the following Saturday at 10:30 p.m.
