Short hospital stay anyone?

wannabigfam · July 2012

Anyone else planning on checking out of the hospital immediately after delivery? Our plan is to stay only 3-4 hours after delivery (of course, if all goes well and mommy and baby are healthy with no complications). Last time I delivered, it was so fast and easy they mentioned an early check-out. I said "no" I wanted to stay the whole time allowed and that was fine w/ them too. I wondered why people would leave early....

And then we experienced the wrath of hospital hours :-) Nurses in and out all night, asking me to fill out birth certificate information at 4 am, etc etc etc. Ugh it drove me crazy! I had no sleep for 2 nights not because of the new baby, but because of the hospital! And that was with a no-complications delivery.

The birth center in our town (which I would deliver at if our insurance would cover, but unfortunately they do not) encourages women to stay only 3-4 hours and we were thinking that would be great to do at the hospital. Our hospital allows early check-outs (once again, assuming no complications). The only thing weighing in my mind is that it might be nice to have a 2 night stay away from my 2 year old w/ the new baby...but not sure it's worth the constant interruptions. Of course if I deliver late at night I'd just stay the night and leave the next morning probably.

Anyone else planning a drop-in-run out delivery in the hospital?

nanabanana06 · July 2012

Most hospitals will not allow you to do this. I know mine makes you stay for at least 24 hours, sometimes more. That is with an uncomplicated vaginal birth. For my C/S it was 3-4 days in the hospital.

tma1685 · July 2012

I had the option to leave the day after my second one was born. I chose not to and I'm glad I didn't because he formed server jaundice on the second day. He ended up staying for a week after he was born. It's defiantly your decision on when you feel comfortable leaving. Just don't rush yourself though.

lady_tytah · July 2012

My hospital regular policy is only a 24 hr stay. When I delivered my daughter I had her at 515 am, they asked if I wanted to check out at 10 am. I decided to stay there the whole time. Definitely wish I had left lol. This time I am leaving as early as possible.

tinabean00 · July 2012

My plan is 24 hours after delivery. My MW was completely on board with that. No reason to stay, rack up hospital bills and expose you and baby to needless hospital germs if everything is A-OK

ilovelife · July 2012

Nana_Osaki06:
Most hospitals will not allow you to do this. I know mine makes you stay for at least 24 hours, sometimes more. That is with an uncomplicated vaginal birth. For my C/S it was 3-4 days in the hospital.

This. I thought it was a "law" that they kept you for 24 hrs for monitoring (vaginal birth)?!

ETA: I'm having a rcs, so as soon as the dr mentions discharging me, I'm out of there! I'd love a shorter hospital stay because that means less money out of our pocket!

pixieprincss · July 2012

We are at a natural birth center for this baby and will do exactly that. We thought about it in planning our last birth, which was at a hospital, but I had a multi-day labor and we ended up appreciating staying put, having the prepared meals, and getting the BFing support (though it ended up being mediocre support). You may have to check yourself and baby out AMA, but it certainly is your choice.

BrieanneB · July 2012

My hospital stay is the closest thing to a kid free vacation i've had in a long time and frankly i am looking forward to it

. I don't remember being interrupted at all during the night with either delivery. Maybe, if you can't leave early, you can ask for some 'do not disturb' hours or something?

MissIntentional · July 2012

I plan to stay 24hrs.

meangene · July 2012

I stayed one night last time and hope to do the same this time around, just in case. I definitely don't want to stay 2 nights if I don't have to though; 1 was more than enough last time around. I hate hospitals.

MichelleL1118 · July 2012

I had a c/s last time, and was only in the hospital for 2 days - admitted at 6am on a Tuesday morning and discharged before noon on Thursday. My insurance will pay for 3 days for a c/s, assuming no complications, and I'm tempted to stay the extra day this time (although I probably won't). But my hospital didn't bother me or baby between 10p-6a, either; I'd definitely be out of there as soon as possible if the nurses were waking me up all night long.

j&j060708 · July 2012

We had to stay 24 hours with a vag delivery and 48 with a c-section. I agree the constant monitoring was annoying, but once we asked them nicely if we could just page them when we were awake with the baby for a feeding, they were great about not waking us up. I plan to only stay 24 hours if all is well with #2. I want to get home to DD and I hate hospitals.

Tash13 · July 2012

ilovelife:
Nana_Osaki06:
Most hospitals will not allow you to do this. I know mine makes you stay for at least 24 hours, sometimes more. That is with an uncomplicated vaginal birth. For my C/S it was 3-4 days in the hospital.

This. I thought it was a "law" that they kept you for 24 hrs for monitoring (vaginal birth)?!

ETA: I'm having a rcs, so as soon as the dr mentions discharging me, I'm out of there! I'd love a shorter hospital stay because that means less money out of our pocket!

They can't force you to stay if you don't want to. Even if they recommend you staying, you can sign a paper saying that you're leaving against medical advice whenever you want. It's not jail, they can't hold you hostage.

We stayed for 2 nights last time. My MW brought up leaving early but I chose to stay and wish I hadn't. This time we're going to a birth center and will be leaving around 4-5 hours after the baby is born as long as everything goes according to plan. That being said, they come to our house on day 2-3 to check on bleeding, uterine contractions, etc. and will come again at a week if they aren't satisfied with how things are going. I would discuss this option with your health care provider, or at least things to keep an eye out for to make sure everything is healing the way it should.

minky · July 2012

I left after 24 hours with my second, and regretted it. My baby came down with jaundice after we were home, and although he was fine I would have felt better having him checked out thoroughly at the hospital. More importantly, my 2.5 year old was very demanding when i got home and wouldnt leave my side. I couldn't get any sleep or naps because he wanted to be with me. I was so exhausted I actually collapsed! Anyhow, this time I am taking that extra day to get some rest. My hospital allowed 'do not disturb' signs when I was sleeping, maybe that would work for you?

Grins04 · July 2012

Ours is 24 hours too. I prefer that...maybe I'm paranoid, but I prefer to be at the hospital if anything were to take a quick turn with DD or myself.

OregonMama · July 2012

I chose to do short stay with my youngest daughter. They kept me six hours after I delivered and I loved coming home to rest. With my first daughter I stayed the whole two days allowed and I can honestly say I much preferred coming home early versus staying in.

This time I'm hoping to do short stay again. I'll know how it goes in a few days (induction Tuesday if he hasn't arrived by then).

nikkivonnekro · July 2012

I stayed 2 days with DD1 since she was premie and my BP was high. I definetly plan to stay the full time with this DD as well just to make sure she is ok

mlf625 · July 2012

Hell no. I've delivered at two different hospitals and slept really well at each. Our nurses were respectful of our need for sleep and only came in to check on the baby as needed or give me my meds. DH and I felt like our hospital stay was a vacation, and I'll be in no rush to get home this time, either.

Plus, for those who have c/s, rushing home is going to prolong your recovery. Stay the 3-4 nights your insurance allows, rest, and focus on the new baby.

TechieGirl1 · July 2012

our hospital has a required 2 day stay for vaginal birth 4 days for c section, so I won't really have that option. Seems awfully quick to me, and i would want to just make sure there's nothing wrong. That's just me though!

melody921 · July 2012

I will not be leaving early. Our hospital is a two-night stay after delivery. Even with the constant interruptions, I'd prefer baby and I both be monitored. I've known too many people where the mom had severe hemorrhaging or the baby had jaundice or something that would cause a problem if they'd already been home. Besides, I'd be rushing home to my 2.5 year old, so it's not like that would be relaxing or conducive to healing.

music247 · July 2012

BrieanneB:
My hospital stay is the closest thing to a kid free vacation i've had in a long time and frankly i am looking forward to it .

THISSSSS! Yes

Mrs.RockyM · July 2012

With DD I had a csection and stayed the full 4 days. I can't imagine going home any sooner with this one. I'd want to make sure all was ok with the baby and myself before going home and considering labor and delivery (and birth) are pretty big things, I'd rather stay a little longer in the hospital, just incase.

allardr · July 2012

My plan now is to stay the required 24 hours, and then go home. However being a FTM if I don't feel ready I'll stay a little longer, though I think I'll be itching to get out of there.

Obviously when I deliver with affect this somewhat since I won't leave at an ungodly hour so I may stay longer to avoid like a 2am departure.

Twizzle · July 2012

I would love to leave as early as possible. However, I don't know that I would leave that early unless I had a home visit from a nurse the next day to check on me and baby. I had planned to deliver at a birth center last time and that was how they did it. I ended up with a c/s and 3 nights in the hospital, which was way too long. This time I am hoping for VBAC and 24 hour stay.

wannabigfam · July 2012

PinkLily1234:
If you check out of a hospital against medical advice (AMA) as PPs mentioned, you may have trouble getting insurance to cover your bills. I don't know if it's changed in the last 5 years or so, but my dad checked out AMA after a surgery and it was a 6 month battle with insurance to cover his bill.
Remember, your doctor has to discharge YOU and the pediatrician has to discharge BABY. My doctor discharged me 48 hours post c-section per my request instead of staying the full 3 days, but the pediatrician didn't realize that and didn't discharge the baby because she assumed we were staying. I had a nurse track her down for me, but we had to wait an extra 2 hours for the pedi to come back and discharge DD.

Yep I wouldn't check out AMA. I figure there's a reason they're keeping me there. It's just that last time, they mentioned going ahead and being able to leave a few hours after birth so I wondered if it really was a good or bad idea. I was kind of surprised they mentioned early check out b/c I had a 36 weeker...he was healthy though.

jenikas · July 2012

I plan on staying in the hospital as long as I can...but for a different reason. My disablity insurance pays $50 for each calendar day you are a patient in the hosptial. Since I am taking an extended (read: non-paid) maternity leave, every penny counts!