Should mothers go home ASAP after delivery?

[mears]

As promised I have started a new thread on this. I am involved in the planning of a new maternity hospital. Ours is going to move to be near a general hospital for emergencies.
The plans are that there will be rooms that you deliver in then go home after 24 hours - sooner if possible, all being well. Some midwives are horrified that women will be going home too soon - especially those who have other children and perhaps need the rest.
Does anybody feel that they would have liked to stay longer? Did anyone feel 'kicked out'.
Is there a need to be in hospital after an uncomplicated birth?

[doormat]

When I had my dd1,2 and 3, 5 days was usually the norm (showing my age here).A couple of days each with ds1 and ds2(he had to stay in SCBU for month). Times had changed by time I had ds3, I was only in hospital for 4 hours. it was nice to go home and settle straight into a routine and have my home comforts around me. I think it depends on the individual but IMO the new way of post natal care is for the better. I mean lets face it hospital food is disgusting and as for the infections you acquire in there!!!!!!!!!!

[Angel78]

My ds was born early on a Tuesday morning and we were sent home midday on the wednesday. The birth itself was horrendous but the aftercare was pretty good. We ended up going back in on the Thursday as ds was jaundiced and being stuck in a tiny room with a huge incubater for a very long 4 days. I swore then that when I had baby number 2 I'd be going straight home.
My dd arrived late on a friday night and I almost felt as if I'd forgotton all there was to know about newborns. There was no aftercare at all. Her temperature was down so they put her under a heater. She was only supposed to be under the heater for an hour but they forgot about her and she was under it all night.
Then 6am on Saturday morning a midwife came in and said "So you'll be wanting to go home then".

All in all I'm glad I went home early but I hated feeling as if I was on some kind of production line. The care from the community midwifes was alot more help. I had no help with breastfeeding in hospital but once I was home a lovely midwife visited who spent an hour helping me with breastfeeding and I'm still feeding dd now and she's almost 13 months.

A little bit of aftercare in hospital would have been nice though especially as I'd had a boy first time around. It was up to family to tell me not to worry when I found blood and discharge in her nappy when she was a couple of days old. Surely you should be told this in hospital. So IF I ever have another baby then I'd be going home as soon as possible. I found it easier to relax and a whole lot less stressful than being in hospital.

[Podmog]

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[grommit]

Mears - this idea may be fine for second time mums but not for first timers. Most women have no idea what to do first time around and (like me) some are probably still in shock! A few days in hospital is a good period of adjustment before being thrown out into the big wide world to cope! I had hardly even held a baby when I had dd and had no idea how to change nappies, bath, dress, feed - my stay in hospital taught me these basics. I would recommend at least 2 days for first time mums

[Linnet]

I stayed in 5 days when I had my dd 6 years ago. She was born at 2 minutes past midnight monday morning. I was taken to the ward at around 1.30am where I promptly slept, exhausted after the labour, they woke me at 4am to feed her, I remember the midwife got me to lie on my side with dd beside me to feed and we managed all right. And then I woke at 7am with her sleeping on the bed beside me. I was horrified, what if i had knocked her out of the bed, obviously nobody had came back to see how I was getting on and I must have dozed off while feeding her.
I had been very nervous going into hospital as I wasn't looking forward to sharing a ward with other women. I could have asked for a private room but there is no guarantee that you will get one, if an emergancy comes in before you they get the room. As it happens I had a great time. The other woman in with me had also just had her first.
The woman with her first baby and I used to have lovely evening chats over supper in the day room and I look back on that time as special. WE were both in the same boat muddling through.
the only problems I had was that I didn't know I was supposed to fill in the chart for feeding and nappy changing. my dd was 3 days old before anyone mentioned it to me. And the midwives didn't always seem very helpful during the night, if the baby kept crying they came to see why but never seemed to stay long, just sort of sorted you out and that was it.
I was glad that I'd stayed in for 5 days as had no idea what I was doing and felt that at least in hospital I'd have professionals on hand to help me out.
Next time I'd probably go home a lot sooner since I'd know what I was doing. But it was good to be able to stay in until I felt ready to go.
Only other bad point was the heat. It was so hot, why does it need to be so hot? if you had a home birth your house wouldn't be as hot as that surely.
oh and my dd was the one who cried while I slept right through one night. I felt awful when the midwife woke me up to feed her I'd slept through my dd crying and the other two babies as well, oops, must have been more exhausted than I thought.

[monkey]

My 1st was emergency c-section and I had such a crap time in hospital I couldn't wait to leave. It was hot, dirty, there was practiacally no post-natal support, they forgot to even give me painkiller a couple of times. I was miserable & in agony & booked myself out on Wed pm (ds delivered Mon night, so a day and a half).

2nd child 'natural' birth but huge episiotomy & 3rd degree tear to boot. In hospital 5 days (different place) and wonderful, although sharing with just 2 other this time still too many. Now expecting no. 3, considering splashing out on a private room. I suppose I would go home if I had help & support there, but I know that I'll just be back in the thick of it, with 3 to look after. I'd rather have a week in to recover & find my feet.

[Slinky]

I delivered 2 of my children in my local Midwife Led unit - 2 delivery rooms and 6 postnatal beds - and I stayed for 3 days each time. I had a lovely time in hospital - 1 to 1 contact with midwives (many of whom I still see locally and they always stop and chat!).

My middle child was induced, which meant I gave birth in a "High Risk" hospital but I discharged myself almost immediately after back to my lovely Midwife Led unit.

I have never felt "kicked out" - infact with DD2 they wanted me to stay another night because of problems with breastfeeding but after spending a night listening to a baby crying in the next bed and the mother sleeping through - yes, I used to get up to wake her up - I had enough and wanted to get home. (Just to add - this girl used to leave her baby on the ward (just me and her) and sneak off with her boyfriend to the local corner shop for fags).

[washer]

1st pregancy I was in hospital for 4 days...I didn't really want to be there at all...but I felt safer being there because it was my first baby. My 2nd time I was home 6 hours after delivery. Which was nice, because I was able to relax more at home. I personally think is should up to the individual and how they feel in themselves.

[mears]

deegward - I totally agree that women should all give birth in nice surroundings whether low risk or high risk, and that is agreed by all for the proposed new maternity hospital.

wiltshirelass - what a horrible time you had. Beind admitted to the paediatric ward is less than ideal for breastfeeding/jaundice problems. Mothers of new babies deserve to be fed wherever they are, but paediatric wards do not cater for mothers needs very well. The midwife should still visit though. It is an area that very much needs improved. The biliblanket is so much kinder for the baby. There is no need for lying naked with eyes covered. Of course overhead phototherapy may still be needed. My own dd had severe jaundice due to known rhesus antibodies and she was under the equivalent of SEVEN lights after delivery then has 3 exchange blood transfusions. The poor staff wore sunglasses and sweltered in the heat. They even put eye patches on the toy lamb in her incubator

[Lindy]

I also had my own room (emergency C/S, baby with physical abnormality) and to be honest with the shock of the birth, then finding out about the problem plus the huge, huge responsibility of a baby I needed a few days to come to terms with it all - I was glad to be able to stay there although I would have hated to have to share a room. (I had to for about 2 hours due to some mix up & having to share with a 20-something young mum in baby-doll pyjamas - I am not joking - with her perfect little girl,TV on constantly whilst I (early 40s) frumpy, grey haired, grotty old pjs, baby with a problem & TV hater - it was a nightmare!!).

I agree that facilities should be available for people to stay if they want to - everyone is different.

[Kyliebump]

Our hospital had single rooms which were used for women after c-sections, v.difficult births etc. If you had a 'normal' birth and there was a room available you could pay a charge and have one of these rooms (on the understanding that you would be kicked out of it and onto a shared ward, if someone needed the room). DS's delivery I guess would be classed as normal - induction followed by ventuose and epesiotomy. I feel very lucky that one of the single rooms was available as it meant that I had privacy (could shed bucket loads of tears without feeling self conscious), wasn't disturbed by others visitors, and best of all had an en-suite toilet. As I was in a bit of a state emotionally the midwife brought in a spare matress one night so that DP could stay in with me.

I had to go on a shared ward for an afternoon and absolutely hated it - spent most of the time sat on the bed in floods of tears with the curtains drawn round the bed - not only feeling inadequate, but feeling publically inadequate.

I had trouble establishing b/feeding to begin with and stayed in for 3 days to get it started. I had fantastic support from the midwives but I know for sure that if I had been put on a shared ward I would have left as soon as possible. I would have left before breastfeeding was established and when I was still what I can only describe as feeling like I was in a permanent panic attack. I can't imagine what the first few days would have been like at home with DS if I had been in that kind of a state, so feeling comfortable to stay in hospital for those 3 days was essential for me.

Having said all that, I think things may be different for first time mums. If I have a second I think things may feel very much different, there won't be as many unknowns, and may feel confident to leave hospital much quicker. I guess ideally the perfect system would have the flexibility to let people leave or stay as quickly or as long as they wanted to.

[wiltshirelass]

Just to provide my experiences of jaundiced babies - had both at Chelsea & Westminster, both 10 days late and induced but normal births. DD was diagnosed as a bit jaundiced on day 2, and was given phototherapy in her cot beside my bed for 24 hours, then we were discharged. Absolutely fine. DS was sent back to hospital on day 3 by my community midwife because of jaundice, and as Mears said, because we had checked out of the postnatal ward the day before, we had to go onto paediatrics. There we spent 6 days in a tiny room with a big cot and two phototherapy machines. The room was heated to about 90degrees F (literally) because he was naked and needed to stay warm. I had a fold up bed in the corner. He needed to stay under the lights as near to 24 hours as possible, so quick breastfeeding, no winding allowed, he ended up screaming under the lights because he hadn't been burped. He was also on IV - a short line meant that I had to stay very clost to the cot to breastfeed, terrible for my back. No proper nursing chair, just a hospital plastic visitor's chair which gave no support for breastfeeding. Also the double lights and box over his head to protect his eyes meant that I had to stay awake 24 hours a day (brief respite from dh during the day) to ensure the box stayed in place, particularly when he was thrashing around with wind.
I was given no postnatal care at all and in fact they tried to stop me eating on the basis that the cornflakes were for the children on the ward and I wasn't a patient. All in all a pretty horrendous experience. But I can't fault the care given to DS - they worked out very quickly that his very bad jaundice was due to an underlying congenital problem (hypothyroidism) and I'm eternally grateful for them spotting it and starting treatment so quickly. He is now 2+ and the brightest sweetest thing.
Now pregnant with number 3, and thought of those first nightmare 2 weeks in hospital still makes me extremely anxious.
Would love to hear Mears' view of all this.

[wiltshirelass]

Just to provide my experiences of jaundiced babies - had both at Chelsea & Westminster, both 10 days late and induced but normal births. DD was diagnosed as a bit jaundiced on day 2, and was given phototherapy in her cot beside my bed for 24 hours, then we were discharged. Absolutely fine. DS was sent back to hospital on day 3 by my community midwife because of jaundice, and as Mears said, because we had checked out of the postnatal ward the day before, we had to go onto paediatrics. There we spent 6 days in a tiny room with a big cot and two phototherapy machines. The room was heated to about 90degrees F (literally) because he was naked and needed to stay warm. I had a fold up bed in the corner. He needed to stay under the lights as near to 24 hours as possible, so quick breastfeeding, no winding allowed, he ended up screaming under the lights because he hadn't been burped. He was also on IV - a short line meant that I had to stay very clost to the cot to breastfeed, terrible for my back. No proper nursing chair, just a hospital plastic visitor's chair which gave no support for breastfeeding. Also the double lights and box over his head to protect his eyes meant that I had to stay awake 24 hours a day (brief respite from dh during the day) to ensure the box stayed in place, particularly when he was thrashing around with wind.
I was given no postnatal care at all and in fact they tried to stop me eating on the basis that the cornflakes were for the children on the ward and I wasn't a patient. All in all a pretty horrendous experience. But I can't fault the care given to DS - they worked out very quickly that his very bad jaundice was due to an underlying congenital problem (hypothyroidism) and I'm eternally grateful for them spotting it and starting treatment so quickly. He is now 2+ and the brightest sweetest thing.
Now pregnant with number 3, and thought of those first nightmare 2 weeks in hospital still makes me extremely anxious.
Would love to hear Mears' view of all this.

[deegward]

Mears, thought I would share this thought with you. Was at my Toddler group committee meeting last night, and one mother was bemoaning how nice midwife led units were in comparison with the other side. I thought this strange until I listened to her rationale.

She had been induced twice and was therefore classed as high risk so could not use the lovely midwifelead unit, with lovely rooms, en suite shower rooms, tv, relaxation room. Now she had to stay in the hosp longer, but her facilities were worse. No duvet, no individual room, etc etc. When she put it like that, you think that maybe the delivery suites and post natal wards, that are used for the mums who aren't simple, should be even nicer than those who are going to escape after 6 hours

[JoPat]

I had a really bad experience when in the hospital with dd. The other 3 mothers in the room were not the best at initial care giving, for a variety of reason. Not that I was wonderful or new what to do straight away but the midwives on the ward seemed to be forever taking their babies away and giving them time on their own. Whenever I asked for any help I seemed to be in the way. I'm not explaining this very well. Basically I too will miss home, dh and dd. I found the stay quite stressful and if everything goes according to plan (ha, ha!!) I'd like to be out quickly.

[Jzee]

sorry just posted this in the wrong place!

[Jzee]

I'm new to this board and would like some advice on choosing a London hospital. Does anyone have any experiences of UCH or the Homerton hospital? Or know if either have private rooms or water birth facilities?

[aloha]

BTW, good luck and I hope it all goes wonderfully well.

[aloha]

Mind you, I would take advice from your consultant on this issue - don't want to encourage recklessness in anyone but myself! A friend of mine went home two days after her second section last year, and apart from the odd raised eyebrow everything was fine. She said her second was much easier than her first as she knew exactly what to expect this time. She just missed her home, dh, dd and own bed!

[JoPat]

Thanks aloha,
Hopefully all will go well with the section and I'll be out without any fuss. Will let you know how it turns out.

[aloha]

You can leave whenever you want. Hospitals CANNOT keep you in if you want to go - even if you were on the verge of death. It would be false imprisonment! They may not be happy about it, but it is entirely up to you when you leave. YOu just discharge yourself. They could only prevent you taking the baby if there was a serious and urgent risk to their health and they got a court order. I am always amazed when people seriously talk about being 'allowed' to go home. They can only advise you as to whether it is safe or not. It is up to you whether you take the advice or not. If I have another child I certainly aim to be home in a couple of days. I was well enough the first time and I doubt anything would be different.

[JoPat]

Going for a section on Firday and hopefully my experience of the ward will be better this time than last. However I still want home as quickly as possible. Hopefully having a nurse (my sister, a doctor (her pratner) and ambucance technician (dh) will mean that the hospital will be happier about letting me leave early. I don't think I could face another 4/5 day stay. Does anyone know if it is possible to get out within a day or two of a section?

[Demented]

JoPat, both time I have felt that the midwives in the delivery suite were much nicer than the midwives on the post-natal ward (with a few exceptions, ie the midwife that sat with me for about an hour while a wept buckets and tried to b/feed) but maybe it's all the post-natal hormones!

[megg]

When I gave birth we had a mat. unit and a GP unit. The mat. unit was woefully understaffed and the GP unit was run by midwives. I had to give birth in the Mat. Unit but I had already booked for the GP unit so I could go downstairs to them and it was wonderful. The nurses/midwives took time to help you, give advice and were just fantastic. Unfortunately the hospital has now seen fit to close the GP unit down and so there isn't the choice. I stayed four days in the GP unit and it was great. If I had had to stay in the mat. unit I would have left the next day because it was overheated, understaffed and just plain awful. Because women were in labour they couldn't even escort me to the toilet the first time (it was in the guidelines that they had to). I felt so sorry for them. When we left there was a woman left downstairs in reception in labour because there was no-one to come down for her. When I was in labour for 3/4 of the time we didn't have a midwife with us and the doctor had to be called as a matter or emergency but she didn't turn up for 3/4 of an hour.