What can I do to improve my chances of getting home from hospital asap after childbirth?

[TheArmadillo]

Expecting dc2 (32 weeks tomorrow) and want to have as short a stay in hospital as possible. Home birth is not something I want to consider for various reasons.

Had difficult birth with ds and was in for 5 days - had every drug going including epidural that was topped up multiple times. Also had blood transfusion, ds in scbu (briefly) etc.

Spoken to the consultant and am at no higher risk of the same happening again as I was last time so could/most likely to all be fine. Not worrying about it.

However the one thing I did have a problem was I hated staying in hospital for so long - cos of issues it was worse than the birth (not getting washed, not being given food amongst other stuff) and want to be out asap this time as have a lot of support at home.

I am on medication that can cause problems so may have to stay in a day or two depending on how stuff goes, but want to keep my chances of getting home quickly as good as possible. I.e. 6 hours after birth if possible.

WRT to epidural - would that automatically mean a longer stay in hospital. What other drugs would have an effect on staying in? Basically what can I do to improve my chances of getting home as soon as possible?

TIA

Sadly not having a epidural, or pethadine will get you out quicker. I didn't have these and was perfectly mobile as soon as the placenta was delivered (I walked back to my bed and into a shower). I was discharged after 12hours where the women who had a lot of drugs were still bed bound.

Take your iron tablets! They didn't want to let me out after DC2, I had taken mine and my bloods came back okay. Also if you need hospital pain relief, make sure the order goes in first thing in the morning.

Oh and get washed and dressed and refuse to act like a patient. If they write "mother needs to sleep" point out you can't in hospital so please send you home.

I had had an epidural too. But I didn't manage 6 hrs, more like 15 ish by the time the bloods came back.

Agree with slushy that to maximise your chances, go for as natural as possible. TBH, if you're up and walking around straight after delivery, as long as you're fine, and the doc has been round to do the baby checkover, then there's no reason why you shouldn't leave.

I had to deliver my dc3 in hospital (VBAC) but did it naturally, made sure the staff could see I was fine (leapt off the delivery bed and said 'Right, when can I go !!) and I was home later that morning.

I had pethidine and I was allowed home the same day, although I was in for more than 6 hours after the birth. DD was born just before 11am and I was home in time for dinner in the evening. So you can have pethidine and go home the same day if your baby is born early enough in the day.

Otherwise, as the others have said, get up and walk around, take a shower, act like you've loads of energy and just keep asking to go home. I would put something in your birth plan too so the MW knows how important it is to you.

When you feel ready to go home, and it is medically safe to do so, just give them a bit of warning along the lines of - I will be going home at 3pm today so please make sure my discharge letter is done. Repeated to every passing midwife/member of staff.

Then at 3pm pick up your stuff and go home Worked for me. Unless they are mad keen to get your bed back they are often just a bit slow to organise stuff IME.

Thank you very much for these.

SO as natural birth as possible.

Get up and about asap

Keep bugging them till they send you home out of desperation

I will put notes on my birthplan thingy.

I will have so much more support at home than I did in the hospital last time.

Fingers crossed everything goes to plan.

I had DC2 at 00:15 (on April 2nd, I was determined she would not be an April fool!), having had an epidural in for 5 hours which was topped up for a forceps delivery. I went home at 10 am. I just told them I was going and they sorted the paperwork out.

They wanted me to have doc check baby but as the hospital doctor had made a mistake with my DC1 (noted that he had 2 testes when in fact one was undescende ), I told them my GP would do it.I'm really lucky that my GP does home visits for newborns but even if they didnt it's only 5 minutes down the road.

They also wanted me to wait for medication but when I checked what that was, it was paracetomol!!

Just stand your ground, but make sure yoou have help at home, it's exhausting with nb and toddler.

tell your gp that you will be happyier and better at home, tell your midwife and the hospital you need to go home to recover quicker.

make sure your support is ok at home and keep repeating this on regular intervals

i just told them at hosptial i was going home that dya and they asked me to stay in overnight and i agreed as long as thye knew i was going at 8am the following morning thye then said 8.30 at change over and my dad was picking me up so i will be going - they agreed on the comprimise as i smiled and was firm

go for a comprimise so state you want out ealrier to get a shorter stay

Gosh - when I had mine, you were chucked out as soon as anyone spotted the fact that you were actually vertical.

thank you for these. It is very interesting to note. The only thing that may screw it up is if there is issues with baby due to my medication (and that can be sorted as long as they know) in which case I'd obviously stay in if needed. Otherwise hopefully I can put my foot down and leave.

Definately taking notes of these.

They will prob want to see you feed the baby at least once, to make sure you are both happy/comfortable with it.

I had pethidine with my DS, and was still discharged after about 6 hours - I made sure I got myself washed and dressed as soon as I could, and assured them that I was feeling OK.

Well, they can't make you stay. They wanted me to stay in for 48 hours for 'observation' with DD1, when in truth no-one had paid me the slightest of attention since she was born. So we signed an 'against medical advice' form and got the heck out of there.

Oh, and don't let them tell you that you need to wait to see their paediatrician before discharge (as long as you aren't worried about baby's health at all). You can get the same check from your GP the next day. We had to wait hours for the paed, who just had the briefest look at DD1 before declaring her fine. What a waste of time that was! We could have been home hours earlier!

I'm the same as you. Had a fairly traumatic birth with DS1 (midwives didn't realise how far gone I was), by the time I was in the delivery suite, I was 7cm and completely out of it with pain (can't really remember the birth TBH). Too late for any drugs. DS1 was delivered by ventouse and I was kept in hospital with a screaming baby for more than 2 days because they only had one pediatrician on duty that weekend!

With DS2, got in hospital at 6.45pm (didn't realise I was in labour ). Demanded Had gas and air, 4 pushes and DS2 was out at 7.30pm. Asked to be discharged straightaway... You have to insist on it. Tell them your GP will do the newborn check. I was dressed and ready to go by 9pm. The midwives fucked mucked about with the paperwork and we were finally discharged at 11.45pm so 4 hours from start to finish!

dd2 was a failed ventouse and a forceps birhts - the pediatrician never saw her and no one quibbled about him/her.

Get your midwife to put it into your note now that you want to recover quickly and think the best place to do this is in the quite of your own home not the noisey hospital where you will be woken and disturbed all night long for however many nights.

my mum told the hospital that her gp had agreed to her being discharged and told the gp that the hospital had said it was ok for her to go home after 48 hours that was in the 60's when 10 days was the norm she did have the gp come and see her and she was fine

Agree with all this. I had a nightmare 5 day stay in pn ward with ds1 due to incompetent midwife which I won't go into yet again on MN but consequently I was gagging to leave ASAP with ds2 - so much so that I was chucked off the tour of the maternity unit (was a different hospital second time around) for being too negative and scaring the first time mothers (or was it DP asking if they had Sky TV and commenting that "all the London hospitals do"?)

Anyway, ds2 was born at 4 a.m and we were home by 8 to introduce him to his brother. The way to achieve this, assuming you are happy all well with baby, as others have said, is:

Natural birth as possible
Refuse stitches unless you really, really need them
Feed the baby asap so he/she does a poo and goes to sleep
Get up, have a shower, brush your hair, pack your stuff up, pace around (if you can't manage this, get DH/DP to do it)
Eat, do a wee, do a poo - this is near impossible so just lie and say you have, they won't check
Take no shit - tell them what your planned departure time is, remind them, remind them every time you see a memeber of staff (if you do)
Go to nurses station at allocated time with baby in carseat, coats on, noone will have taken any notice of you until this point at which time a doctor will miraculously appear and sign you out

I think we really offended them - the breakfast lady was visibly wounded that I didn't want any concrete porridge before I left, but seriously, how any medical professional can think an NHS PN ward is the optimum place to recover from a birth and bond with your baby is beyond me.

Thanks for these - will take notes of them all and speak to midwife at next appt.

Hospital stay was awful last time - worst than the birth. I'll get lots more help at home with dh and his family on hand.

Nice to know they can't make me stay IYSWIM.

I think you best bet is just to somehow hide the baby, and make out you weren't really in labour at all, it was just a twinge...schedule an appointment for a ssweep, grab child and RUN

I have had diamorphine both times and with dc2 told them I was going home as soon as I arrived at the postnatal ward and they sent me home.
They tried to get me to wait for medication ( which I did need but had a stock at home!)but I left and said I would get my dh to pick it up later. Also if you want to see a peads doctor for the newborn check start asking as soon as you can along the lines of
' when will he have his check I'm going home?'

also because I have quite a copmplicated blood condition I make sure that I get my full info from my haematologist before going into hospital while still pregnant about how long things will actually take. I also make sure they do an outpatients perscription and I have a good stock of the drugs I need at home. Drugs really slow down discharge a lot!
repeat after me ' I am going home' said to every person who looks at you of a medical nature.
I found midwives second time round listened to me a bit more as I had already done this once before

Best bet of getting out quickly is going natural and pushing for discharge as soon as the baby is born.

Ask if midwifes can do newborn baby check - many can. If Rh- ask for injection without waiting for baby's blood test results.

Show them that you can feed the baby, and that he has weed and pooed.

Have a shower right away get dressed and say you have urinated and feel fine and are ready to go.

is there any reason why you can't have a home birth?

Go in as late as possible usually equals coming back as early as possible. Tis just the way it is.

That would mean you need to rely on your own internal pain coping methods. Hypnotherapy is a very good way.

No drugs is the best for avoiding complications that can lead to a longer stay. Prolly not gas and air unless you are allergic or very very sick on it.

Give birth at our local hospital. Had a v long labour with episiotomy, 3 failed ventouse attempts, failed manual rotation and emergency cs (pethidine, diamorphine and spinal block). Was discharged 12hrs later. DD hadn't fed or woken up really, catheter still in as they signed the papers. It would have been less obvious they needed the bed if they'd picked me and dd up and thrown us out of the window.

I can't have a home birth because
a) I don't want one (plus have lodger who would not be impressed - can imagine his face )

b) am on medication that can cause problems so need to be monitored in case there is problem with baby at birth.

Thanks for all these.

I might try MargaretAttwood's idea - do you think I'll get away with it

I also worry about how I will cope in hospital as I have hallucinations and paranoid delusions - if dh isn't there I will struggle. I need someone to sit with me and calm me down while they are going on and don't think I'll get that in an understaffed hospital. BUt I will talk to my midwife about that as slightly more complicated.

After 5 days of trying to be discharged I eventually resorted to putting my coat on, putting baby in car seat and announcing I'm leaving now at the midwife's station. Amazingly the midwife did my paperwork and 5 mins later I was discharged! It was bonkers for me staying in hospital with a new baby on my own when I had my OH and parents at home to help me! Remember you can just walk out - no one can make you stay. They may make you sign an against medical advice form but hey even if you need to go back they still have to treat you so I wouldn't worry. If I have another one I'm going to get up and dressed as soon as I can and just tell them I'm leaving at whatever time and just go!