Can they actually stop me

[Rosebel]

I've been in hospital with pregnancy problems since last Sunday. Had the baby on Wednesday and every day they say I can go home tomorrow but still can't.
They are waiting for a Covid result which might be tomorrow but probably not. This is for the baby not me.
The doctor said they can't let me go but I'm sick of being in hospital. Every day is a reason why I can't go home. Can they actually stop me leaving with my baby?

Usually this situation is about staff shortages rather than any risk from bringing the baby home.

Rosebel I wonder if you have a Social Worker or specialist midwife?

Agree that you should just calmly tell them you're leaving, pack your stuff and sign what they want. Then just leave.

I had issues with them deciding they couldn't discharge on a Sunday and wanted to keep DS in again for a 3rd night (I had had strep B). I made it clear I was happy to leave DS if if he needed to stay but I was discharging myself. They decided he was in fact fine to leave.

Go with the medical advice OP. They wouldn’t keep you in without good reason believe me.

Are newborns being routinely tested for Covid-19?

I once did discharge myself and my baby. It was DD3, so I had already had two previous babies.

She had been born slightly prematurely, at 35 weeks but was feeding well (on their prescription formula), pooing and weeing well and had no other problems at all. Not even any sign of jaundice. She was a very reasonable weight too for the stage of pregnancy she had been born at ( 6lb 8oz). I had had a caesarean, but was doing fine too and they were ready to discharge me.

All doctors agreed that there was nothing wrong with DD and most said that they’re would discharge her, but there were a couple who, for reasons known only to themselves, said simply that preterm babies should remain until 6 weeks past their due date. Paperwork for discharge or anything else seemed totally elusive. So I was stuck. I wasn’t convinced on the need to stay and nor were many of the other staff. So I decided it was bollocks and told them that once my DH got there later that afternoon we would be leaving. With our baby.

Funnily enough, that broke the deadlock. The paperwork magically turned up and was signed. As did the bounty pack and all the other bollocks that they discharged you with back in those days (2002, that “baby” will be going to uni in October). Social Services were not involved or even mentioned. We simply went home.

Ask for a meeting this afternoon if possible. Certainly insist (calmly) on having a clear explanation of the reason, medical or other, why you must stay in. Test results can always be sent directly to your GP if not totally urgent, and you can be advised from there.

If they come up with nothing then say that you will be leaving with your baby at XXX time, thank them for your care etc.

This all assumes that there is nothing else going on that you haven’t mentioned of course, but I actually don’t think it is uncommon for this sort of thing to happen. It can be down to disagreements between staff and/or administrative cock ups.

I discharged myself with my second. He had nothing wrong with him, but because he had a birth defect (no treatment possible), there was just total confusion and some vague idea of sticking around for more specialists after the registrar had already said there were no other issues. Maybe if I'd hung about they'd have rolled out the plastic surgeon, ortho and genetics, but since they all needed the bones to be fully formed before an opinion, I'd have been wasting my time. Only caveat I would give you is that getting the tests all done at the same hospital makes the paperwork far easier down the line.

Go with the medical advice OP. They wouldn’t keep you in without good reason believe me.

Agreed. What would be the point ? Hospitals are perpetually busy so they discharge patients as soon as is safely possible.

They would not be saying you had to stay if you could go home. It’s possibly one more Dayton the sake of your child. Just stay

Day for

If the only reason they are keeping you both in is because they're waiting for a covid result then I would just leave. You can call for your results and it makes no difference whether you're there or at home when you get them, in fact it's probably safer at home (less chance of contracting it if you haven't already)

Let us know how you get on OP. I was kept in for 9 days with my DD, I was very ill and was receiving precautionary antibiotics so leaving wasn't an option as I wanted her with me but I completely understand how depressing it is to be stuck in there for days on end.

Congratulations by the way

@ChicCroissant

You've only got the OP's word on what is happening though Villanelle - it's a one-sided story.

Yes. However if the situation is so very different to what the OP has said then the OP will already know this and will know what the options are and the likelihood of police being involved if she leaves with the baby. If she's telling a story on mumsnet it won't change whatever is really going on in the hospital. Going by what's she's said, police will not be called if she leaves.

I would leave.

Okay anyone who thinks hospitals discharge you quickly doesn’t have a clue.

I’ve just been discharged following emergency surgery (not pregnancy related) and was told before 11am I’d be going home.
11 I ask what’s going on- oh we’re waiting for dr, they told me. I’d already seen dr. Dr had approved my discharge. Waited a bit longer.
1pm rolls round and I ask again, when will my paperwork be here? Oh waiting on pharmacy now, they told me.
2pm- oh pharmacist is not on the ward, you can’t speak with him he’s gone on lunch.
3pm- pharmacist says you’ll be staying because you need highly controlled drugs and we can’t release you with those
4pm- I told them I was discharging myself, I was sick of it and there was no reason to keep me in. I got dressed and the nurse saw me in my own clothes- I’d been wearing a hospital gown the whole stay. Suddenly pharmacist appears (same guy who had been sitting at nurses station the last 3hrs) and says ahh we need you to stay, your medication is taking a while, can’t let you go home. I said I’m a single parent, been away from my kids long enough, I’m not healing here because the ward is so noisy so preventing me sleeping and the DOCTOR said I could leave. I told him I’ll call my gp for medication.
10mins later he handed me my discharge paperwork that stated hospital discharged me with medication being sought from gp.

Gp called me within an hour of requesting call back and arranged medication for me. It was an absolute farce. I didn’t want to stay, I needed to rest at home.
Don’t get me wrong, the staff were fabulous, but they very much seemed like their hands were tied which wasn’t fair to them.

So op tell them you’re leaving. Tell them a dr needs to come to sign your discharge paperwork because you’re leaving at 5pm with your baby. There, is from what you’ve said, no logical reason to keep you both in. Give them a time limit, pack up your stuff and make it clear you’re leaving

I would already be sat at home by now if I was you. Let the nurse or midwife know you intend to go home and start packing your bags. Then leave. simples.

No guarntee it will be one more day. You can go on Friday. No you can't. You can go on Saturday. No you can't. You can go on Sunday. No you can't. So who knows how many more days? They don't have the results now so can't do anything at the moment. I can just as easily do nothing at home.

I can't understand why you would want to go, when the hospital want to do something that's to the benefit of your baby, and your family?!

YABVU. In this instance, you need to put the baby's needs before your own slight boredom!

Oh and it's a midwife and doctor. Wouldn't be a social worker as never had any involvement with SS.

zingally Why stay when there are no problems?

@Topseyt

“said simply that preterm babies should remain until 6 weeks past their due date“

They wanted a 6lb 8oz, 35 weeker baby, to stay in for 11 weeks?

OP you said on one of your other threads in the past week that you were now being made homeless due to your MIL - where are your family currently living? Do you have somewhere permanent to take the baby home to? Could the issue with not wanting to release you and baby be with a home address not being provided or something?

I'm not staying in for 11 weeks. I've got older children at home. If the doctor isn't here by 3. 30 I'm packing and leaving.

It can be down to disagreements between staff and/or administrative cock ups

Yes. Box-ticking, sometimes. Allegedly, I had to be seen by somebody who didn't turn up for two days. When I at last insisted I was going, he magically appeared, didn't even exchange a word with me, glanced into the ward, ticked some box on a form and fucked off again. I stayed in an extra day, utterly miserable, PND worsening because of that extra time, just for this stupid wee bureaucratic exercise.

This was in a particularly shit hospital, and I expect sometimes people are kept in for good reason. In that case, it should be very clear why, and when you will be discharged. Otherwise, I'd just leave.

I can't understand why you would want to go, when the hospital want to do something that's to the benefit of your baby, and your family?!

Results of a covid test are hardly to the benefit of OP and family? Even if positive, if no issues she will be sent home and told to isolate family/baby. If baby becomes very sick, come back. As you would any other child who became ill. Baby its not ill now, and there seems to be no issues.

Not sure what the point of staying longer is. Surely they could contact you with result of the test. I wouldn't think you were planning on going out or anything when you get home anyway? So will be quarantined for foreseeable future anyway.

I guess benefiting family as , wont give them covid right now, if positive. BUT, unless they plan on keeping OP/baby in for 2 weeks until negative test, then its just delaying the inevitable surely? Cannot see any reason they would keep a healthy mother and child in, even if a covid test was positive. Of course would be quite different if symptoms or illness of some kind that needs an eye kept on and stuff. But theres not..