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Five Ways to Green Your Child's Hospital Stay


My son was born with a congenital heart defect, which thrust my green living family into the not-so-green world of Western medicine. We were blessed to have a natural home birth assisted by caring midwives before entering the world of surgeons and intensive care. Throughout this process, including our most recent stay in the hospital, I have looked for ways to make the experience greener, and to minimize the toxins my son is exposed to while getting the medical care he needs. Not only will these suggestions green your hospital visit, but they will also provide your child with comfort by providing familiarity to the hospital stay. Please note that this post is not intended to give medical advice, and all changes you make to your child’s care should be discussed with the doctor first.

1. Bring Your Own Organic Food

When my son first had open-heart surgery, breastfeeding supplied his nourishment, although pumping was required. If you are concerned about Bisphenol A (BPA), be sure to remember your own BPA free bottles or sippy cups, as you may have to pump breastmilk initially for a child recovering from surgery. During our last hospital stay, we brought our own organic food to the ICU. In my experience, the first nourishment they give a child after surgery is a popsicle, soda, or juice. After being exposed to so many meds and germs, I want my child’s first drink after a fast to be organic. Organic juice boxes are convenient in such a situation, although they do use excessive packaging. When your child is ready for solid food, their favorite organic foods make a nice replacement for the hospital food, and your child will recover more quickly from eating the foods they like. It is important to check with your child’s doctor about any dietary restrictions and follow this advice.

2. Bring Your Own Beauty Products

Don’t forget your own toothpastes and soaps when planning a hospital stay. When the nurses gave my son a bath with Johnson & Johnson’s Original Baby Shampoo, which scores a 5 out of 10 on Skin Deep, my son broke out in a horrible rash all over his body. The nurses felt terrible, and we learned the hard way to bring our own green beauty products to the hospital. The last thing a child needs in this situation is to have their suffering increased by unnatural beauty products, and you can feel better that you have not abandoned your green living principles during the hospital stay.

3. What Diapers Will You Use?

After surgery, my son was put in Pampers, and an hour later, another rash erupted. We used cloth diapers at home, but I did not bring any to the hospital, as I felt we would have no way to deal with them. Seventh Generation unbleached diapers offered a good solution (this was before gDiapers), and the doctors used to comment on how they looked like the brown napkins from the cafeteria. Consider your child’s diapering needs before being admitted to the hospital, and ask if there are any accommodations for cloth. As it turns out, UCSF Children’s Hospital had a regular supply of cloth diapers that we could have used if we would have brought our own covers.

4. Provide Toys, Books, and Clothes From Home

The more like home you can make your child’s hospital stay, the better it will be for your child. Bringing their favorite organic teddy bear and pajamas will eliminate the need for hospital gowns and provide comfort. Unless these items are already green, this may not green your family’s stay, but your child will benefit. Babytoolkit offers an extensive post “What to Take When Your ER Visit May Become a Hospital Stay.”

5. Pack Out the Recycling!

Some hospitals may have recycling bins near the cafeteria, but in my experience, these bins are not sufficient to accommodate all of your recycling needs. During our stay, the NICU did not wash baby bottles, but they continually used new, sterilized bottles. This is also true for pumped breastmilk and its storage. I came home from the hospital with two grocery bags full of plastic bottles, with every intent to reuse them. These bottles ended up in the recycling bin, but this is a much better option than the landfill. Who knows, your efforts to pack it out might inspire other parents and the nurses to change their disposable ways.

If you have a choice, selecting a green hospital will make your family’s hospital stay more eco-friendly; however, the green hospital of your choice may not be an option for your child’s medical needs. What makes a hospital green? The Green Guide used 12 criteria for rating green hospitals: 1) siting, 2) water efficiency, 3) energy and air pollutions, 4) materials and resources, 5) indoor environmental quality, 6) healthy hospital food, 7) green education, 8) procurement, 9) contaminants, 10) green cleaning, 11) waste reduction, and 12) healing gardens. The greenest hospital in the country is Boulder Community Hospital Foothills Campus. “Hospitals are the heart and soul of the community and we need to be open for business no matter what,” says Kai Abelkis, environmental coordinator for Boulder Community Hospital in Boulder, Colorado. “If the hospitals in New Orleans had solar panels, at least they could have kept the respirators going. If hospitals upgraded to more efficient lighting, we could save a considerable sum, enhance emergency preparedness and improve air quality.”

The more you can make your child’s hospital stay like home, the better your child will adapt and recover. For green families, this means bringing green products to the hospital and carrying out any recycling. Just like when going into the wilderness, the green hospital stay follows the credo “if you pack it in, you pack it out” (with the exception of medical waste!). If you can’t bring these items or know in advance what you might need, find the closest health food store or coop to the hospital, and ask a friend or relative to run an errand for you. By greening your family’s hospital stay, you will alleviate one less stress during these difficult times.

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Comments

  1. Sheri says

    September 20, 2007 at 3:04 pm

    Great tips. Thank You. You have given me a lot to think about for my upcoming hospital stay. I am keeping your son and family in my prayers.

    Reply
  2. Kim and Jason says

    September 20, 2007 at 4:52 pm

    Wow, Jennifer. You are fantastic.

    More and more moms and dads look for thoughtful and informative blogs to help them in making healthy decisions for their little ones. Yours has gone above and beyond, helping parents green an atmosphere that should (for all intents and purposes) already be that way, but in truth, is a far cry.

    Thank you for your amazing and incredibly helpful post. We’ll certainly refer expectant parents to your blog.

    Warm wishes,

    Kim and Jason Graham-Nye
    gDiapers

    Reply
  3. Activist Mommy says

    September 21, 2007 at 5:04 am

    I’m impressed you still got a homebirth. 🙂 Or were you not aware of the heart defect before birth? Most midwives refuse anything remotely “risky”. Or maybe that’s just midwives in my area.

    Reply
  4. Jennifer Lance says

    September 21, 2007 at 2:24 pm

    No, we didn’t know ahead of time about the heart defect. It could have been seen on a level 2 ultrasound, but we didn’t have any ultrasounds and there no signs that one was needed. I am so thankful he didn’t need immediate surgery after birth, and it all worked out.

    Reply
  5. Jennifer Lance says

    September 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm

    and one more comment about midwives…..my midwives were amazing. They supported us throughout it all. They offered to spend the night with us the first night he was born. They attended weekly doctor appointments with me and an echocardiogram at a local hospital. They never left our side throughout it all, short of traveling 6 hours to UCSF with us, but they called often.

    Reply
  6. Peter R. Sherman says

    February 20, 2008 at 10:52 am

    What a great and informative post! Thanks so much for your input. My wife will tell her expecting friends. All the best to you and your family!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Green your Moving Checklist: Choose RecoPacks : Eco Child’s Play says:
    September 13, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    […] company has also been approved by the FDA for hospital moves, and offers a hypo-allergenic deep cleaning (at a charge) for families who have special […]

    Reply
  2. Greening Your Hospital Stay : EcoLocalizer says:
    May 3, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    […] turns out I’m not the only one that has this topic on her mind! Over at Eco Child’s Play, Jennifer Lance has some great tips for greening your kiddo’s trip to t…. A lot of her tips, like bringing your own organic food and your own beauty supplies would apply to […]

    Reply

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About Eco Child’s Play

Our ethos is to provide news, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a greener, healthier life! Additionally, we offer personal consulting services to help you achieve your green living goals.

Jennifer is a vegetarian, yoga teacher, gardener, hiker, teacher, and mother that has been living off-the-grid for over 20 years.

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