Anyone who already gave birth

[chlo299]

Hi All,
Do you mind guys sharing how long you were at the hospital after giving birth and whether it was a natural birth or c section etc. Many thanks x

Natural birth at 6pm, discharged the next day about lunchtime

Vaginal birth, one night, just over 24 hours.

Emergency section after failed induction 4 nights (I didnt need to stay in but baby was in nicu)
Elective section 1 night

1st - ventouse birth - I left 21 hours after birth.

2nd - caesarean - I left 29 hours after birth

First was born at 1.15pm. Stayed overnight and went home late afternoon.
Second was born at 8.45pm. Stayed overnight and went home at 9am.

Both natural

1st child - 12 hours

2nd child - they wanted me out after 5 hours lol but I stayed for 1 night to get breastfeeding nailed properly before I left & I was throwing up from the injection that gets the placenta out so needed an anti sickness before I could leave lol

Both after inductions for pre-eclampsia at 37 weeks.

Child 1: Vaginal birth. Stayed in for 2 nights post birth to make sure my BP was behaving and for kiddo to have a couple of blood sugar checks due to the medication I was on.

Child 2: Emergency C-section. Stayed in for 2 nights post birth to make sure my BP was behaving and for kiddo to have a couple of blood sugar checks due to the medication I was on.

Literally no difference between them, despite their different modes of delivery.

Emergency section at 3am hospital happy to discharge me later that evening but I asked to stay another night which they were fine with. So 1night with baby , 2 nights in total including labour.

Category 1 section after failed forceps birth here. Gave birth early evening and didn't try to get me up until next morning. They would have let me out that night but stayed an extra night for more help with breastfeeding. Had the midwife from day 2 helped me day 1 it wouldn't have been needed as she was great!

First birth, hospital - typical cascade of interventions (and ongoing repercussions for my now 6 YO) - in 5 days

Second birth, home - no hospital

Due again in July and will be avoiding the hospital at all costs

First baby I was there three days as he was jaundiced and needed monitoring.
Second I had at home so never went in at all.

Induction - Friday, returned Saturday morning to be checked, was having contractions. In labour over Saturday night into Sunday. Baby born c-section Sunday evening and home Monday evening

Had to stay 3 nights as I was given codeine for pain when pregnant (I wasn't told about the 3 day rule when I was pregnant only after giving birth so didn't have enough stuff! Was during covid as well, so no visitors)

1st - 3 nights. Vaginal but ended up having forceps. Felt I was kept in unnecessarily as didn’t get hang of breastfeeding for a while.

2nd - 1 night but he was born at 9.30pm, left the next morning. Vaginal birth.

Induction, forceps, 5 days

First birth, natural (gas and air) but induced. I was induced at lunchtime, had her at 5am that night/ next morning, then stayed in that night and out just after breakfast next morning.

Second birth was twins via elective CS. Had them at lunchtime, and stayed 1 night, then home that evening. I had to be off oramorph (sp?) to be allowed to leave otherwise I would have gone sooner as I found CS much easier to recover from!

In general I definitely think it’s best to get home asap unless you / the baby need medical help.

First was an induction stayed 1 night but would've been fine going same day, but given I had a room to myself I was in no hurry!

Second, very fast spontaneous birth and was home in bed only slightly over 2hrs later. Offered for me to stay in post natal ward, but was totally my choice and surprise surprise I didn't really fancy it...

1st birth about 12 hours all up as was 9cm when I got there
2nd birth just 24 hours including starting induction
3rd birth 4 days. We both were unwell at different stages.

Natural birth, just gas & air.
Gave birth at 23:59 and left the following day 2:15pm (14h after birth) however this was during covid so not sure if the norm is quicker or longer?

Natural delivery - about 30 hours after with DC1

Very long labour, not progressing so emergency section. Had to stay 3 nights after due to sepsis risk for both baby and myself (baby cleared after 24 hrs but took me 3 days to be clear enough to go home). I hated the stay afterwards as the ward was so noisy and they were doing constant checks on baby and me, covid times so visiting hours very limited, so I wasn’t able to sleep AT ALL. In the end I begged to be released sobbing (I never usually cry!) that I’d never get better and only get worse in hospital because I couldn’t sleep. After a night back at home I felt a million times better!

Natural birth

Home about 10 hours afterwards

1st - 2 nights. Vaginal birth epidural 2nd degree tear. Could have left after 1 night but because my husband and I were disagreeing on how baby was fed, they wanted us another night.
2nd - 1 night. Vaginal birth no tears just gas and air

1st on the Midwife led unit, vaginal birth, born 7.30am, was told I could go home at lunchtime, but opted to stay in for help with breastfeeding, so went home the following afternoon.

2nd, Induction, born at 6.30pm, home by 11.30pm the same evening, also a vaginal birth

1st baby: outpatient induction (pessary then sent home) Saturday PM. Back in Sunday 9:30am in labour. Baby born at 11:20am. Needed 12 hour obs due after birth but no one around to discharge in the middle of the night, so we didn't get home til late afternoon Monday.

2nd baby: spontaneous labour. Arrived 00:45, born at 3:02. Met the criteria for a straightforward discharge from the delivery room and home by midday ish.

6 hour discharge is standard for a straightforward birth, but there's all sorts of reasons you could be kept in longer so keep an open mind.