Post partum hospital stay
thebigmare
member
DH and I had our hospital tour last night and we are concerned at how uncomfortable the hospital seems and we'd like to be there as little as possible. We discussed how birth center moms go home hours after the birth. Obviously home birth moms are already home. So it's obviously safe for those moms to be at home!! So once baby gets checked out by ped and I feel healthy enough to leave, we're assuming that it's safe to leave. My coworker's sister did this and she said that she had to sign herself out AMA (against medical advice). Contingent on my health and the baby's health, are there any real disadvantages to signing yourself out a couple hours/day early? I'm not saying that we're doing this. This will definitely be a decision to be made at the time, but it's just something we're discussing.
Edit: Sorry to confuse you guys. I meant if baby was discharged by ped and I was discharged by ob (and I felt up to it and after I met with the LC and felt comfortable breastfeeding), then the whole family would go home. If my ob and the ped allow us to leave before 48 hours is up, I'm considering leaving (not making any decisions now! Just researching options!!) I would not leave the hospital without the baby. I would not leave if I had to sign out AMA.
Re: Post partum hospital stay
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Look into your state's laws. I have friends in New England who tell me that if they leave AMA after birth, the hospital will call CPS (child protective services).
However I sympathize with you. After my first birth, we had to stay 2 days in the hospital, and we were just begging to go home the entire time. With DD's birth, we were at the birth center, and were home 5 hours after the birth.
Statistically when you look at it, those first 4-6 hours are when the majority of complications (with either mom or baby) will occur, if they are going to.
I would also add, that while we were at the hospital, I pushed the call button several times to get something from a nurse and it was a LONG time before they responded. One time I got no response at all. I shudder to think if it had been some sort of medical issue (it was not) and I had needed them, but they did not respond. I know this was only one particular hospital, but still...
I am definitely NOT signing the baby out AMA. I meant for me. I know that it will be at least 24 hours for the baby.
well if it were me i would find out if there will be any problems, like a pp mentioned about CPS, if i were to sign out.
oh and there is no way that i would sign myself out and go home and leave my baby there for the remaining time. for ex: if you went home at 6 hrs postpartum and baby had to stay for 24 hrs does that mean that you will go back every 2-3 hrs to breastfeed, assuming you are going to BF? i would be afraid they would give my baby a bottle, pacifier or shots or something else that i don't want.
Also, not going home without the baby!!!!
oh ok, lol. i misunderstood you!
With my 4th baby, I left and took the baby with me before they wanted to let us go. They didn't make me sign him out AMA. He was 19 hours old when I finally got us out of there just after lunchtime. He was absolutely healthy and fine and had been checked out by the ped, who was not my ped but was just one one call.My OB was perfectly fine with me going home at any time the morning after I delivered(I had him after discharge hours one evening). The pediatrician and one of the nurses seemed to think I was being horrible for wanting to go home, but I am just not comfy at the hospital, can't sleep and hate having everyone trying to tell me how to take care of my baby. It's not like I didn't know what I was doing with my 4th baby. Since it was earlier than 24 hours, he "failed" the hearing test that is required by state law. I just had to take him in to a doctor for a repeat within a couple weeks, which he passed just fine. He is now almost 6 years old and I have never for a second regretted leaving early. I plan to do the same with the baby I'm expecting, #6!
I agree with the PP who said she wouldn't discharge earlier than the baby, though. Even though I could have discharged earlier, there was no way I would discharge and leave my baby there or leave us without a room to stay in with him.
Talk to your doctor and pediatrician. If they agree to let you sign out "early" it will probably be fine. I have a friend who only stayed for like 24 hours after having a c/s.
I would really recommend against doing it AMA though. Check with your insurance plan, because they might refuse to cover the charges if you sign out AMA.
Why would you want to sign yourself out if the baby is going to stay? You would only be giving up your bed, staff support, etc. You'd find yourself wandering the hall or sitting in the waiting room.
Hospital stays are uncomfortable, but if your newborn is there, it somehow becomes pretty darn bearable.
I agree with that. We got great support from our post-partum nurses, and I was very comfortable in the hospital. I basically just slept, ate cake and breastfed the baby the whole time we were there. I had a 4th degree tear and the nurses were so great bringing ice packs whenever I wanted and helping me with everything. I know DH was relieved to just help me with the baby and not have to worry about taking care of both of us.
So, I think it depends on your hospital, but I loved our stay after we had the baby. The food was awful but we had a constant inflow of food from my mom.
They wouldn't let me leave for 24 hours with my baby.
This is one of my top reasons for a HB this time.
I'm with you and hate being in the hospital. With #1 I was there two days and hated being there that second day. It was not relaxing, it was just the opposite but I do think it had to do with that particular hospital's atmosphere. #2 was born in a birth center attached to a hospital and I was discharged after 24 hours. I think what kept me there even that long was the baby getting everything done like hearing test, etc.
Matthew Kevin
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With my first, I didn't know to question hospital policy, so we stayed the two nights and it was nice to be able to rest the night before we left.
With my second, I was dying to get home for so many reasons. My DS#1 had called me crying that first night (delivered at around 5pm) asking for me to come home to him (he was 4)...and it was heartbreaking. And also, I hate hospitals and wanted out and wanted to sleep in my own house. I had a very uncomplicated delivery and so I asked and was assured that I could go in 24 hours because we had a lot to fit in... I needed to have blood drawn and then that Rhogam shot because I was Rh negative and my son is positive. He needed the on-call pedi to come and I needed my doc to come and check me out...and it was a weekend. What held us up was the testing that they do of the newborn for the state genetic testing stuff...but as soon as that was over, we went home... that was a great decision.
THIS. While the thought of getting home earlier sounds nice, you don't want to be hit with a huge hospital bill that your insurance refuses to cover if you checked out AMA.
This. I'm confused. Are you talking about cutting YOUR stay from 48 hours to 24 hours, so you can go home with baby at that point? Or signing yourself out after a few hours (like you mentioned they do in birth centers) and then just hanging around the hospital until baby can leave at 24 hours? If it's the latter, I wouldn't really recommend it. Yes, hospitals can be uncomfortable, but you should take advantage of the help (nurses, pain meds, lactation help, etc) while it's available. The 24 hours really wouldn't take too long to pass, especially if you have space (bed and/or room) to spend your time and get some rest.
I stayed in the birth center, after DS, for just over 30 hours. It was starting to feel long, but DS was having trouble latching and they wouldn't let us leave until he latched or we bought a breastpump. I was glad for their help and support. After DD, at a hospital, it was again about 30 hours. This time was more comfortable and I was glad to be there; it gave me a nice break from being home, taking care of DS, etc. And my SIL, who delivered in a birthcenter, was home 3 hours after delivery and I dont think she liked it. It was a little bit too much at once and didn't have a ton of support at home, so she was already worrying about cooking, etc.
She's already said multiple times:
She would not leave w/o the baby and would not sign the baby out AMA...
sorry...carry on...
I would check with the doctors before you actually go into labor, include the request in your birth plan, and mention it again to doctors and nurses when you check in to the hospital. I've heard there's a lot of paperwork to get through before discharge.
I'm pretty sure I could have been signed out after just a few hours, but then would have had to wait for the baby to be approved to leave by a pedi and that would take longer.
The hospital stay was my deciding factor in going for a homebirth...our experience in the hospital after our last birth was really disappointing - more than just uncomfortable (which it certainly was) but also having our DD subjected to lots of unnecessary intervention. If I could have guaranteed going home within a few hours after the birth (with my baby!), I might have considered a hospital again but you just never know once you're in there...it's so easy to get caught up in their policies and procedures.