PROVIDENCE – Aiming to curb the spread of the H1N1 virus, both Women & Infants Hospital and Southcoast Hospitals Group are barring visitors under age 18 and anyone with cold or flu symptoms from visiting patients, effective Monday, Oct. 26.

The new restrictions are similar to policies imposed at hospitals across the country in recent weeks, including the Lifespan hospitals. But each institution is taking a slightly different approach.

Women & Infants’ policy, like Lifespan’s, applies to all inpatient units, though it makes a major exception: Children of adult patients or siblings of a newborn may visit after passing a brief medical screening that will be given at the hospital before they see the patient.

All visitors will also face additional restrictions: Only two people may visit a patient at once, and visiting hours are now limited to 3 to 8 p.m. No one with a cough, a fever or cold symptoms will be allowed to visit at all.

In the neonatal intensive-care unit, the mother and her partner, with a hospital band, will be allowed to visit 24 hours a day. Other visitors may go in if they pass a brief medical screening. Siblings may only visit the NICU by appointment and be screened before entering.

To protect the public, patients with confirmed or suspected H1N1 flu may only be visited by their significant other or a close relative who is supporting them, and those visitors must wear a mask while in the room. No one under age 18 may visit unless the hospital’s infection control staff has cleared it.

“Keeping our patients healthy and safe is our top priority,” said Paula Gillette, senior vice president of patient care services at Women & Infants, in a statement. “We appreciate the cooperation and support of our patients and their visitors.”

The Southcoast visitor restrictions apply to Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham, but only in maternity and pediatric units. The policy is based on federal health officials’ recommendations.

Janine Fontaine, director of women’s health for Southcoast, acknowledged that the visitor restrictions “may be a disappointment to our parents,” but she added that H1N1 “poses a serious health risk to infants and children in our care and our staff members.”

Infants in particular are thought to be at higher risk for severe illness from H1N1, she noted, and “little is known” about how to protect them from infection. “It is our responsibility to be proactive in keeping them safe.”

To further protect infants, the hospital is urging people to heed the advice of public health officials and get vaccinated against H1N1 if they are in these categories: pregnant women; new mothers, fathers and guardians; household contacts and caregivers of infants under 6 months; children older than 6 months, adolescents and young adults up to age 24; and adults who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

Although the new visitor policy applies only to the maternity and pediatric wards, Southcoast is taking additional precautions throughout its hospitals.

Surgical masks, antibacterial hand sanitizer, tissues and informational materials on the flu – in several languages – are now available in the hospitals’ main lobby entrances and in the emergency department entrances. Anyone entering the hospital with cold or flu symptoms is asked to wear a surgical mask, and visitors and patients alike are asked to wash their hands frequently and/or use the antibacterial hand sanitizer available throughout the hospitals.

In addition, the hospital group is encouraging people to connect with patients by e-mailing them through Southcoast’s Web site, which has an “E-mail a Patient” page that allows people to create a private message and have it delivered to a patient, Monday through Friday.

Women & Infants Hospital, in Providence, is part of the Care New England health system and a teaching affiliate of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. It is the seventh-largest obstetrical service in the country, with more than 9,000 deliveries per year. For more information, go to www.womenandinfants.org.

Southcoast Hospitals Group is part of Southcoast Health System, a nonprofit community-based health care delivery system offering a continuum of services, from primary care to specialized cardiac care, oncology, orthopedics and more. For more information, go to www.southcoast.org.