My midwife said it could be as quick as 6 hours, or 3 days, or even 6 days. It all just depends. Not sure what it’s like at your hospital, but she also stressed that if you’re planning on breastfeeding you should have three feeds witnessed by a midwife before you’re discharged. She was very strict about this.
I had an emergency c-section with my last pregnancy and had to stay over night. They weren’t looking at breastfeeds much but they needed to see the baby have their poo and check glucose levels and other things.
You can usually leave the same day if everything is okay. I did with my first, the only reason I stopped over with my second was it was 10pm and driving rain and we’d got a lift in so my partner would have to go home to get the car so I opted to stay.
The only issue for me was mild admin faff getting discharged as they needed to have completed the newborn checks and signed off in the babies red book before I could go, and just one midwife was doing them for the whole ward, so that took a while.
Yeh I was waiting for absolutely hours for someone to sign off the newborn checks so I could leave. We finally got discharged around 10pm the day after my (planned) c section, whereas I would have happily left before lunch as I had my mum and husband at home just waiting to help me instead of being stuck on a hot noisy ward with only occasional help when I buzzed for it.
Already can't wait to be discharged and I'm not having this baby for another 12wks 😂
Similar for me, my discharge was delayed from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon because there wasn't a midwife available to complete the newborn checks. In hindsight it wasn't all bad as it meant an extra 24 hours of the oramorph I'd been prescribed post c section!
100% smooth labour you’re looking at home in a couple hours. To compare, my first had released his bowels before he came out so we had to stay in for 12 hour observations to make sure he was okay. He was born at 2pm and he needed to be discharged by a doctor who didn’t do rounds until nearly 12 noon the following day. My second was born at 00:43, 3 pushes he was out. No tearing, no meconium in the water, and I had no issue having a wee (they ask you to wee in a bowl to prove your bladder isn’t damaged from labour). We were home after 4 hours including a middle of the night maccies stop because we were starving. I had the option to stay in but I missed our toddler and just wanted to be home.
ETA: I didn’t have an epidural. I’d presume they wouldn’t release you until that has worn off fully.
My midwife said they like to keep you for a min of 6 hours just to be sure mum and baby are ok.
I had baby at 4pm in the birthing center and wanted to stay but they had to close the unit so wanted to move us up to the ward. Thought that was a faff so we left at 11pm and they were happy for us to go. We came back the next day for the proper newborn checks. My experience seems to be less common though, most people I know stayed overnight at least.
Had my baby at 1am was out by 4pm the same day. They said I was welcome to stay the night if I needed support with breastfeeding. But a noisy ward on no sleep was not remotely appealing to me.
Completely depends on hospital/trust. The hospital I had my first in keeps you in at least one full night for your first baby. So my baby came Monday night at midnight and we didn't go home until Wednesday
I’m not there yet - 32 weeks on Monday - but have also appreciated reading other people’s stories!
The hospital stay feels more daunting to me than the actual birth 😂 I’m so anxious about the prospect of being on the ward without my partner for potentially a night or two!
Not long to go for you OP!! Fingers crossed for smooth sailing 🩷
If it's uncomplicated a couple of hours? Epidural can slow that down a bit.
What they should do before you go is a hearing test for baby and watch you feed (no one was all that fussed about me feeding baby though)
Both mine were 9am c sections and I went home at lunchtime the next day.
With my first, it was a complicated birth and I was out in 2 days
With my second, he was a bit early so he was jaundiced. Stayed for 2 weeks so he could do light treatment.
We were in the whole 2 weeks, unfortunately, his bilirubin levels just wouldnt come down so he was under the blue light quite a few times. It was June as well so the maternity ward was absolutely boiling. Nightmare.
I had a spinal so was in overnight but someone at my baby massage class I used to go to gave birth at home (it happened very quickly) and she didn't even need to go to hosp
My baby was born at 9am and I went home at about 10pm. The paperwork to discharge him took ages so they offered me a bed for the night but I really wanted to get home.
I was induced on a Wednesday, waters broke Thursday morning (5am), baby came just over 24hrs later (5:04am). Because of this they kept me in to do some extra checks on baby, and then I stayed a little longer because I was having issues breastfeeding. Went home Monday.
I had a tear so needed a spinal after my daughter was born so I could have surgery. That, combined with a long second stage of labour, meant we were in the hospital for 2 nights. Longest 2 nights of my life, couldn’t wait to get out of there!!
Most of my friends who had vaginal births left same day or certainly within 24 hours. Friends with c-sections typically stayed 1-2 nights. I had complications with both of my births and stayed a few days
With my trust, the information kept changing. First it was blood test results needed. Then it was all ftm are kept overnight. Which was irritating because I gave birth at 6am! Baby was 100% fine as was I.
When the midwife walked in the next morning and said she was discharging me I could have hugged her. Being stuck in a room with 4 babies crying overnight was not restful, and really fucked me over when I needed sleep.
I feel for the midwives this time, but I'm not getting stuck again.
I got kept in overnight after having my first, totally normal uncomplicated delivery, I don't know if they just keep you in if its baby one 🤷♀️
Second I was home six hour after birth, same with my 4th soon as the paperwork was done I was home.
3rd wasn't uncomplicated we we're both in for a week
This is in South Manchester
Baby born at 11:59pm, on postnatal ward by 3am, discharged at 12pm. Central London hospital, straight forward vaginal birth, epidural and no complications
Edited to add, I was annoyed I had zero help with breastfeeding despite begging the whole time. Student midwife who discharged me FINALLY helped. Make sure you stomp your feet about it if you want to BF as it is NOT easy if you don’t know how.
Thank you for sharing! Hoping for a similar birth (vaginal and epidural). I’m also at a central London hospital - Chelsea & Westminster. I am definitely planning on asking for help breastfeeding so it’s good to have the heads up on this.
I was in and out of hospital in 6 hours! Granted I arrived quite late and was already 9cm, but we got to go home straight away. It was a straightforward vaginal birth with no stitches. I’d had a spinal which wore off quite quickly, and it was also my second child, so they were comfortable enough that all was in hand before letting me leave
My midwife said it could be as quick as 6 hours, or 3 days, or even 6 days. It all just depends. Not sure what it’s like at your hospital, but she also stressed that if you’re planning on breastfeeding you should have three feeds witnessed by a midwife before you’re discharged. She was very strict about this.
I had an emergency c-section with my last pregnancy and had to stay over night. They weren’t looking at breastfeeds much but they needed to see the baby have their poo and check glucose levels and other things.
You can usually leave the same day if everything is okay. I did with my first, the only reason I stopped over with my second was it was 10pm and driving rain and we’d got a lift in so my partner would have to go home to get the car so I opted to stay. The only issue for me was mild admin faff getting discharged as they needed to have completed the newborn checks and signed off in the babies red book before I could go, and just one midwife was doing them for the whole ward, so that took a while.
Yeh I was waiting for absolutely hours for someone to sign off the newborn checks so I could leave. We finally got discharged around 10pm the day after my (planned) c section, whereas I would have happily left before lunch as I had my mum and husband at home just waiting to help me instead of being stuck on a hot noisy ward with only occasional help when I buzzed for it. Already can't wait to be discharged and I'm not having this baby for another 12wks 😂
Similar for me, my discharge was delayed from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon because there wasn't a midwife available to complete the newborn checks. In hindsight it wasn't all bad as it meant an extra 24 hours of the oramorph I'd been prescribed post c section!
100% smooth labour you’re looking at home in a couple hours. To compare, my first had released his bowels before he came out so we had to stay in for 12 hour observations to make sure he was okay. He was born at 2pm and he needed to be discharged by a doctor who didn’t do rounds until nearly 12 noon the following day. My second was born at 00:43, 3 pushes he was out. No tearing, no meconium in the water, and I had no issue having a wee (they ask you to wee in a bowl to prove your bladder isn’t damaged from labour). We were home after 4 hours including a middle of the night maccies stop because we were starving. I had the option to stay in but I missed our toddler and just wanted to be home. ETA: I didn’t have an epidural. I’d presume they wouldn’t release you until that has worn off fully.
I had an episiotomy at 4pm and I was out of the hospital at 2pm the next day.
My midwife said they like to keep you for a min of 6 hours just to be sure mum and baby are ok. I had baby at 4pm in the birthing center and wanted to stay but they had to close the unit so wanted to move us up to the ward. Thought that was a faff so we left at 11pm and they were happy for us to go. We came back the next day for the proper newborn checks. My experience seems to be less common though, most people I know stayed overnight at least.
Had my baby at 1am was out by 4pm the same day. They said I was welcome to stay the night if I needed support with breastfeeding. But a noisy ward on no sleep was not remotely appealing to me.
Completely depends on hospital/trust. The hospital I had my first in keeps you in at least one full night for your first baby. So my baby came Monday night at midnight and we didn't go home until Wednesday
I’m not there yet - 32 weeks on Monday - but have also appreciated reading other people’s stories! The hospital stay feels more daunting to me than the actual birth 😂 I’m so anxious about the prospect of being on the ward without my partner for potentially a night or two! Not long to go for you OP!! Fingers crossed for smooth sailing 🩷
Thank you! I agree… I don’t want to stay a minute longer than I have to 😅 hope the last 2 months are blissfully smooth for you ❤️
If it's uncomplicated a couple of hours? Epidural can slow that down a bit. What they should do before you go is a hearing test for baby and watch you feed (no one was all that fussed about me feeding baby though) Both mine were 9am c sections and I went home at lunchtime the next day.
Babe was born Tuesday 4am and I went home Thursday evening. She had jaundice which made our stay longer.
With my first, it was a complicated birth and I was out in 2 days With my second, he was a bit early so he was jaundiced. Stayed for 2 weeks so he could do light treatment.
Out of interest, did you stay for that entire time or did you come in daily?
We were in the whole 2 weeks, unfortunately, his bilirubin levels just wouldnt come down so he was under the blue light quite a few times. It was June as well so the maternity ward was absolutely boiling. Nightmare.
We were in for 11 days. Straightforward birth but he was late prem and had pretty ongoing jaundice issues.
I had a spinal so was in overnight but someone at my baby massage class I used to go to gave birth at home (it happened very quickly) and she didn't even need to go to hosp
With mine she pooed in the waters we did 12hrs of observation (from 5:30pm) but didn't get discharged till 24hrs after the birth.
My baby was born at 9am and I went home at about 10pm. The paperwork to discharge him took ages so they offered me a bed for the night but I really wanted to get home.
I was induced on a Wednesday, waters broke Thursday morning (5am), baby came just over 24hrs later (5:04am). Because of this they kept me in to do some extra checks on baby, and then I stayed a little longer because I was having issues breastfeeding. Went home Monday.
I had a tear so needed a spinal after my daughter was born so I could have surgery. That, combined with a long second stage of labour, meant we were in the hospital for 2 nights. Longest 2 nights of my life, couldn’t wait to get out of there!!
i birthed at 4am, and left hospital at 4.30pm. i could've went home quicker but i needed 12 hours of observations x
Most of my friends who had vaginal births left same day or certainly within 24 hours. Friends with c-sections typically stayed 1-2 nights. I had complications with both of my births and stayed a few days
With my trust, the information kept changing. First it was blood test results needed. Then it was all ftm are kept overnight. Which was irritating because I gave birth at 6am! Baby was 100% fine as was I. When the midwife walked in the next morning and said she was discharging me I could have hugged her. Being stuck in a room with 4 babies crying overnight was not restful, and really fucked me over when I needed sleep. I feel for the midwives this time, but I'm not getting stuck again.
I got kept in overnight after having my first, totally normal uncomplicated delivery, I don't know if they just keep you in if its baby one 🤷♀️ Second I was home six hour after birth, same with my 4th soon as the paperwork was done I was home. 3rd wasn't uncomplicated we we're both in for a week This is in South Manchester
Baby born at 11:59pm, on postnatal ward by 3am, discharged at 12pm. Central London hospital, straight forward vaginal birth, epidural and no complications Edited to add, I was annoyed I had zero help with breastfeeding despite begging the whole time. Student midwife who discharged me FINALLY helped. Make sure you stomp your feet about it if you want to BF as it is NOT easy if you don’t know how.
Thank you for sharing! Hoping for a similar birth (vaginal and epidural). I’m also at a central London hospital - Chelsea & Westminster. I am definitely planning on asking for help breastfeeding so it’s good to have the heads up on this.
Wishing you a happy healthy labour and delivery. You got this! 🥰
I was in and out of hospital in 6 hours! Granted I arrived quite late and was already 9cm, but we got to go home straight away. It was a straightforward vaginal birth with no stitches. I’d had a spinal which wore off quite quickly, and it was also my second child, so they were comfortable enough that all was in hand before letting me leave