I'm going to discharge myself after c-section, can I be stopped?

[SingingWren]

I'm having a c-section on Tuesday, I've been informed by a midwife that my partner will have to leave straight after the c-section. I was tested for Covid19 at their request, so why not test birthing partners too, surely if both test negative, there is no risk on the wards?

My c-section is at 9am, once catheter is out and I'm confident baby and I are fine, I plan on discharging us both and going home to be with partner, where I will undoubtedly get more rest, more help and be far more comfortable.

This may be very late at night obviously, so I'm wondering if they can actually stop me? Surely they can't keep me there if I demand to be let home? Has anyone done this?

Sounds irrational, but I've had two friends give birth at the same hospital in the last month. Both had horrific experiences, short staffed, buzzers ignored etc, both really struggled. Any advice appreciated.

I have given birth 3 times.

DC1 born 7:15am was told I needed to stay for newborn checks etc and once they could see baby successful breastfeeding. Was discharged the following evening.

DC2 born 6:30am newborn checks were done that morning, her birth was registered at the hospital that lunch time and I was home that afternoon.

DC3 I was in hospital for induction on the Monday, DC finally arrived at 12:30am Thursday Morning. I was finally discharged Saturday evening.

How early you can discharge will depend on how well you are your DC are after the birth. Even if their are no complications your DC will still need all their newborn checks and hearing screen etc. Depended on the time of birth these checks may not take place for several hours or even until the next day. Whilst you could self discharge I’m not sure the hospital would allow the baby to be discharged without these checks having been done.

OP just see how you go on the day.

9am C-section could be ‘can you come back tomorrow we’ve had four emergencies’

The baby needs those checks. They do not do them at birth. It’s very very important that they are not missed. If you try and leave it might cause a whole lot of shit you don’t need.

They probably can't actually stop you leaving with the baby without a court order. But if they have concerns, they might call the police or SS. It's unlikely to happen unless they have reason to think the baby isn't fully well, though, which they would explain to you before you left.

Will you actually be well enough to go after major surgery, though? I wouldn't make any big decisions yet.

You are not a hostage or a prisoner. They want you to stay in so they can monitor you and baby.
If everything goes ok then I can see why you would want to go home.
Do tell them you will be leaving, let them prep your paperwork, and yes you can leave.

My first was an EMCS and I was discharged 26 hours later. Some people saying you can't walk for hours/catheter is left until the next morning isn't always true. Had baby at 3, on ward by 5, catheter removed and up at 8pm. I am going to request an even speedier discharge this time however I've resigned myself to the fact I will highly likely be in for one night even though I was right as rain and could easily have coped at home last time (and I declined painkillers because they made me feel out of it). My baby wasn't checked until next morning last time and I suspect if I started making requests to leave asap they would just delay the process to stall me. I will like others have done, self discharge if my stay becomes unnecessarily prolonged such as short staffing meaning no doc to discharge. I'm all for staying when necessary but I have no intention of spending additional time on a noisy ward just because of staffing issues.

OP, I would wait until they give the baby a standard full check. It happened the day after birth for me. I would leave straight after that assuming everything is fine with the baby.

Why do you feel you need to do this? What is your exact concern? Do you feel it's in the best interest of your baby to leave asap, even if that is without being checked? Is leaving earlier the only solution to your concerns?

My eldest was fine at birth, it wasn’t until several hours later that she was taken into special care as she couldn’t maintain her blood sugars or her temperature. She was put on IV antibiotics and was there for a week.

The midwife had become concerned about the colour of her and that’s what prompted the tests. I thought she was a normal colour for a newborn and to be honest was pretty drugged up on pain killers. If I’d been at home I dread to think at what point I’d have noticed something was wrong and don’t know what would have happened.
Suck it up and stay until the doctor says it’s safe to go.

Why do you feel you need to do this? What is your exact concern?

It's in the OP. The partner will have to leave after the birth so OP wants to go home to be with him.

I think the answer is no. If it is your first child you have to be able to have fed (consecutive successful feds) and bathed them before you can be discharged.

On top of that you've had a c section which means you are monitored for I think 6 to 12 hours and then asked if you can get up to walk/pee etc.

I've had 2 c sections and in both cases I listened to the advice I was being told.

I planned to do this with DD2 after a very successful c section worth dd1 where I left within 24 hours.
However remember you will still have a catheter in and you will be numb. The hospital were supportive of me going home and DH caring for me, but actually it was worth staying in hospital for the night. I am pretty stubborn and hardy, and I was horse riding and Christmas tree shopping within 10 days. But I would really recommend staying in for 24 hours. It will be fine. I was treated like royalty for my stay.

Yes some babies in the uk do get bcg vaccinations if they have family from high risk countries

Why would you leave when you have a morphine drip. I'd nearly get pregnant just for that
On a serious note, it is huge surgery and if I remember I had to be able to walk, wee and bowel open and show them I could bath the baby before I was left home. I asked to go home on the 4th day, I'd had enough. With regards to help, where I was, the nurse took him to the nursery the first night for part of the night. I do think you rest more in the hospital, at home you are tempted to do things, even putting the kettle on. If you have another child at home will you get rest?

I’ve had a baby during lockdown (April) and although it wasn’t a c section I had to stay overnight. Honestly it wasn’t as bad as I thought, I had a very positive experience. They let my husband stay for hours after she was born to have skin to skin etc and were generally very accommodating. Midwives were so lovely throughout the night/next day and it was generally quite nice to have a quieter ward with no partners or visitors.

I also had a really positive lock down experience post birth. Ended up with an emergency section at 11pm, DH got to stay until 2.30am. I stayed in for 2 days in a private room and baby and I were in a little breastfeeding bubble just us 2.

DH was home with our toddler DS, and baby and I had peace to recover and bond.

When I had DS, I felt like I hardly held him in the hospital with the steady stream of visitors and trying to cover up the boobs to stay decent didn't help with inexperienced feeding.

I was actually a little bit sad for a nano second when we were re joining the real world!

Our local hosp is now however allowing 1 designated visitor post birth.

If it is your first child you have to be able to have fed (consecutive successful feds) and bathed them before you can be discharged.

Op has already said it is not her first baby. Also bathed? I didn’t bath my son at hospital. In fact they discourage you nowadays to wash them on the first days.

Also, don't underestimate how hard it is to move about after a section. That first time getting out of bed afterwards is pretty horrific and you will feel like your insides are going to fall out.

Take all the good pain relief you can whilst you're still in the hosp as once you are out, it's just over the counter stuff!

Even under normal conditions your partner would not be by your side the entire time post birth.

Really you can’t cope on your own for potentially less than 24 hours?

I had a c section lunchtime Sunday and they didn't take the catheter out until the next morning! Baby had an antenatal paed Alert on her. She was checked at birth obv and they made sure she fed. A nurse checked her late evening but a doctor didn't see her until next morning for her full check. And that's with a paed alert

So I wouldn't get your hopes up you will be able to leave quickly.

Of course you can discharge baby without the dr seeing it. I had to sign a form stating that I was discharging ds against medical advice (actually was nothing wrong, there was a problem with the umbilical cord and they didn't want us to leave until he had wet his nappy which can take a while with a newborn) but no-one tried to stop me doing it.

What about your Clexane etc? If you discharge yourself in this fashion you won't have that to take home with you and (from what I remember) you need to take that for a week post C section.

@Bmidreams

You need to get your bloods done and results back first. Plus they check you and your scar. Then baby is checked, any immunisations given. They check babys weight too to make sure they're not losing. There's loads of things. But yes, its absolutely horrifying in there!

Newborns are not immunised, are they?

@Pacif1cDogwood

BMIdreams, no vaccination is given to neonates. There are a number of inaccuracies in your post.

OP, if there was a concern about the wellbeing of the baby, you could be prevented from taking them home. SS and even, in extreme cases, the Courts get involved in concerns about a baby's well-being if what the parent insists on seems to not be in their best interest.

Actually, some babies who are eligible are given their BCG in the hospital (not all babies are eligible for this of course; and not all get it in the hospital, some are recalled to clinic like DD has been) so there are some vaccinations administered in certain cases to a newborn.

I'd be interested to know the actual legal position on this. I've done lots of googling and it really isn't clear. IFAIK the only power to take a child from a parent, without a court order, is to take the child into police protection but that wouldn't seem appropriate here (unless there was an actual likelihood that the baby would come to significant harm if discharged).

(Nb I'm not suggesting that the OP goes through with this just because it's not illegal)

Tbh I would do whatever the doctors seemed appropriate for me and my child. They're not gunna keep you in for a laugh. Maybe start putting your child first. So