Jess, 28 weeks pregnant, is trying to plan overseas
visitors and her hospital stay after a c-section birth…
“I’m in my 3rd trimester and it’s going so fast! I’m starting to think about the birth and getting everything organized but there are a few logistical challenges to say the least. I’m having an elective section and I’ve heard the recovery can be horrendous so my mum is going to come and stay with me for a few weeks after I get out of hospital.
Everyone has told me I can expect to spend a week in hospital after a c-section but I’m just wondering how accurate that really is. My mum lives overseas and she’ll have to organize flights and time off work so it’s really important that we give her a specific time frame if possible. My husband has to go overseas for work two weeks after we’re due to have the operation so I need her there for as long as possible while I’m at home.
I’m just wondering how long the average mum has stayed in hospital after a c-section? Is it usually a week or can it be more? What factors can affect the length of stay? If I’m going to be in longer, I’d like to be prepared for the possibility so I can let mum know and make alternative plans for when I get out.”
After asking our members to fill out a quick survey it would appear that Jess’s mum had better book that flight for soon after the birth!
Roughly 60% of the mothers surveyed who had C-sections were discharged on the fourth day, with some even going home as early as the 3rd. The majority of the stays in hospital post-cesar went as planned, and as long as everything was OK with mum and baby, they were home by the fourth or fifth day after the birth.
There were a number of instances where the hospital stay was a bit longer than expected and these were generally due to health issues with the baby. The most common reasons for a longer-than-expected hospital stay were poor weight gain and/or feeding problems and a few instances where babies were sick or jaundiced and needed to spend some time in ICU.
Here is some of the advice our members gave Jess:
“Enjoy the rest!” – Beth, Scotland
“I was actually discharged on day 2 but they insisted it was day 3 as baby was born in the morning!” – Wendy, Midlands
From the overall results it would appear that the average hospital stay after a c-section birth is around 4 days and the main factors that can contribute to a longer stay include feeding problems, weight gain and health issues with the baby, all unfortunately out of anybody’s control!