Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

3-6 hour discharge - how common is this?

36 replies

Wholelottalove · 11/10/2010 20:02

I went to a homebirth support group today(considering having HB with DC2 due in Dec) and was quite surprised when the midwives said that at our local large maternity hospital they are now so stretched they are making 3-6 hour discharge the norm, particularly for 2nd time Mums. In fact, where they can, they are apparently asking people to go home directly from the delivery suite.

I'm not necessarily against this as if I end up in hospital and all goes well, I'll be keen to come home asap, but I was quite surprised and also a bit concerned. If they are so busy it seems to be only a matter of time before they need to close their doors to women in labour surely?

Is this now a standard thing? I did leave quite quickly with DD (2 1/2 years ago) but even so it wasn't until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon and I'd had her at midnight.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Original poster

Wholelottalove · 11/10/2010 20:04

Should say, I meant I'm not necessarily against this for my own personal circumstances. I would imagine someone who has had a very long or difficult labour may well not want to feel pressured to leave after only a few hours.

OP posts:

phipps · 11/10/2010 20:05

I wasn't able to leave the same day I gave birth with my first 2 babies but with the 3rd DH asked that we leave asap and we left 6 hours after the birth.

DiscoDaisy · 11/10/2010 20:10

With 2 of mine I left after 6 hrs. I went home and had a better night's sleep than I would have had in hospital. After my 5th child was born I wanted to go home straight away but because he was born in the afternoon the midwife convinced me to stay. God I wish I had ignored her! Staying in hospital meant I had the worst night sleep of my life.

Marjee · 11/10/2010 21:13

I went home after 8 hours and that was a ventouse with my 1st baby. The mw said you would usually stay a bit longer after an instrumental delivery but there were no beds on the ward so we had to go straight home from the delivery suite. Most of that time we were just waiting for the dr so it would have been even sooner.

Tbh I could have done with staying a bit longer, we had visitors round straightaway and I was so sore and clueless about how to look after a baby! My local hospital is very busy so that probably doesn't happen in quiter hospitals

lucykate · 11/10/2010 21:16

i went home 6 hours after having ds, was my choice, i asked as soon as we got there if i could go home as soon as possible, as long as there were no complications. luckily, all went well and quick, i had him, had a shower, got dressed and packed my bag ready to go.

ruddynorah · 11/10/2010 21:17

yes with my 2nd they asked me if i wanted to go straight from the delivery suite. i asked to stay a little longer as we'd promised dd she could come to collect her new baby brother from the hospital!

SummerLightning · 11/10/2010 21:20

I was practically booted out the door 24 hrs after my 2nd (emergency) cs so I can believe it.

ShowOfBloodyStumps · 11/10/2010 21:22

I was kicked out 12hrs post emergency cs.

Fluffypoms · 11/10/2010 21:22

I had 6 hour discharge with all but one of my four ds was kept in for 24 hours as he had meconium in the waters.

jollyma · 11/10/2010 21:24

I went home after 5 hours w ds2 at my insistence. He was born early afternoon so timing was fine. Dont think i'd have appreciated being discharged in the early hours though.

CrystalQueen · 11/10/2010 21:24

Wow Marjee that was quick. I had a forceps delivery and had to beg to get out the next day. I ended up leaving at 9pm because I had to produce some arbitrary volume of pee before they would discharge me.

buttonmoon78 · 11/10/2010 21:26

I was out in 24 hrs (13 yrs ago), 12 hrs (10 yrs ago) and 4.5 hrs (3 yrs ago).

None of that was being kicked out. I had to practically get DH to kidnap me

Their reasoning for not wanting me to leave at 4am with dc3 was that it was cold . Obviously the MW in question didn't have heating in her car or house like normal people...

preghead · 11/10/2010 21:27

I had a nightmare enforced 5 day stay on the postnatal ward from hell with ds1 (for no good reason, it turned out) so with ds2 I was literally gagging to get out the door if the birth was straightforward as I hoped. Luckily it was quick and easy, he was born about 4am and i was home for breakfast at 8 with his older brother. It would have been sooner as we were showered and ready to go by 6am but the breakfast lady came round and forced me to have a bowl of porridge!

TBh this is the ideal situation for me if the birth is starightforward and I am very much hoping to break my record for upcoming 3rd birth. We live very close to the hospital, I was able to come back and relax and sleep properly at home, they sent a midwife to check on us mid-morning and we took him in for his first checkup later that day. I can't think of anywhere I would rather be less than on a noisy, over-heated post-natal ward!

elsiepiddock · 11/10/2010 21:29

I went after 6 hours with ds2.

6 hours of saying 'when can I go home?'!

thelittlebluepills · 11/10/2010 21:31

I was out after 3 hours with DS2. We were less than 4 hours from arrival to departure:

arrived, had baby, tea and toast, photos, shower and brush hair (note that I should have brushed hair before photos), blood pressure check, dress baby, go home

it was fab - like having a home birth except that I didn't have any clearing up to do

pippylongstockings · 11/10/2010 21:46

With DS1 I went home after about 3 hours - but the midwifes were truely excellent as they did MIMO - which was midwife in midwife out.

Basically you go into labour and call the midwife, she comes and visits you at home to check your progression, so you can labour for as long as possible at home with G&A. They then accompany you to hospital, and once you have your baby and are discharged they come and check you asap at home. I then had a midwife visit me every day for a week to make sure everything was going ok.

It really was brilliant - they also have a very high home birth rate in that area probably because they gave so much support.

ProfessorLaytonIsMyLoveSlave · 11/10/2010 22:02

With DD (2nd baby) I could have gone home about 2.5 hours after she was born, but we didn't have the carseat in the car yet so DH had to go home and get it, so it was about 4 hours in the end. I was discharged straight from the delivery suite, but there wasn't any pressure put on -- once they had finished stitches they just said "would you like to stay in overnight or would you prefer to be discharged from the delivery suite?" and I nearly bit their hand off going for the "straight from the delivery suite" option.

It was fab, although DS was seriously pissed off that he didn't get to come and visit us in hospital like the big brothers in his "preparing for new sibling" books. In fact he's already said "when you have this baby can I come and see you in hospital, Mummy?"

ProfessorLaytonIsMyLoveSlave · 11/10/2010 22:04

(it didn't seem to be particularly busy that day, either, so I did genuinely get the impression that it was an offer for my benefit rather than theirs)

LadyOfTheFlowers · 11/10/2010 22:08

With the first 3 I couldn't go home and had to stay a night with each for various reasons (severe jaundice, haemorrhage, meconium) but with no.4 I was fine to leave, but couldn't because there were not enough Doctors to come and check her over even though there were women in need of my bed.
Quite sad really.

preghead · 11/10/2010 22:16

You don't actually have to see a doctor before you leave out of interest they will still sign you out if the birth was straightforward and thebaby is fine if you are confident to do so.

You would also be amazed how quickly one of the unavailable doctors turns up if they do think you need to see one if you get your coat on, put the baby in the carseat amd go to the desk and say we're leaving now, bye

ProfessorLaytonIsMyLoveSlave · 11/10/2010 22:20

I did have to promise to bring DD back to the baby clinic a couple of days later to be checked by a paediatrician as part of the "we'll let you out now" deal.

Sparklies · 11/10/2010 22:40

My local maternity ward is often closed to women in labour and they're sent elsewhere. Even better they're closing a nearby maternity unit shortly so that's going to be really interesting.. yes, there is concern!!

There's a six hour policy and I would've gone for it with DC1 (DC2 was c-section) but it was the middle of the night when the six hours expired, so I escaped early in the morning! Got home just in time for the Sainsburys online order I'd made the day before to arrive - perfect timing!

thesecondcoming · 12/10/2010 01:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RobynLou · 12/10/2010 01:26

I was trapped in hospital for 5 days after DD's birth, the last 8 hours I was taking up a bed which I'm sure they needed for someone else (given that when I first went onto the ward they had to put me in a single room with another woman and baby) because they were waiting for then realised they'd lost a set of blood test results...

I'm hoping for a 2hr discharge this time.

equator · 12/10/2010 01:52

I had a six hour discharge at my request after dd was born seven years ago.

Flip

1 2

Swipe left for the next trending thread