How long will I stay in the hospital after I deliver?
If you had a vaginal birth, you may be able to go home as early as the next day. Most women who have C-sections stay for 2-4 days after their deliveries.
If you give birth in a hospital, there will be certain things that you will need to do before you will be discharged. These include being able to empty your bladder, having your pain controlled only by medications taken by mouth, and having vaginal bleeding that is within the normal range.
While it is true that most of these are bigger issues after having a C-section, even recovery from a vaginal delivery can sometimes be tricky! With that said, while the above timeframes are general guidelines, anytime your provider has a concern or feels there is a medical reason to keep you in the hospital longer, they will do so (for example, if you are recovering from preeclampsia).
It is important while you are in the hospital to get as much information as you can about caring for yourself and your baby, and definitely be sure to get help with breastfeeding if you are having any trouble or if this is your first time nursing. You will get a ton of paperwork before you leave and a lot of this includes discharge care and instructions. Be sure to put this in a handy place for when you have questions in the middle of the night!
Reviewed by Jennifer Lincoln, January 2019
I had a vaginal with my first and left by noon the following day I had a rough delivery and it was the scariest morning of my life I was to weak to push and doc refused a c-section and almost lost her but this time now 28 weeks with baby #2 will be having a c-section
I was in the hospital for 3.5 days following the birth of my first child. He was perfectly fine, but I had issues, even though it was a vaginal delivery. I almost had HELLP syndrome, so they wouldn’t let me leave until my blood pressure came down and my platelet count was on the upswing. I still wasn’t where they wanted me to be when I left, but I was trending in the right direction, so they let me go. I would have welcomed a next-day discharge! I was SO happy to get out of that place! I cried in the car because I was just so miserable in the hospital! I felt like the staff was not on the same page as I was…they wanted me to supplement with formula because my milk had not yet come in. But I had done enough research to know better than that. And my pediatrician and OB were so supportive! If/when we do this again, I will not deliver in the same hospital. They don’t get a lot of deliveries, so they hover. I’d prefer a more hands-off approach next time.
I had vaginal deliveries with both of my babies. I stayed the 48 hours allowed with my first, plus they let me stay an extra day because he was so jaundiced and they needed him to stay b/c his levels were way too high. I appreciated it so much they allowed us an extra day so I could breastfeed him and be with him that extra 24 hours. My second I also stayed 3 days because it was somewhat of a traumatic birth- he had to be vacuumed out, he wasn’t breathing so well on his own, etc. (I could go on..) I can’t imagine going home the next day, even if the delivery was perfect! One of the scariest moments after having your first baby is when they discharge you in my opinion! All of a sudden you have this tiny human you have to take care of all on your own without nurses or anyone to give you advice and help you. But, it all falls into place and parenthood kicks in. You have an epiphany like- I can do this!!!!
I remember that moment too, Alexe! “You are going to let me take this human home?!”