post c-section hospital stay?

[aikigypsy]

I may be looking at a scheduled c-section for placenta previa, in early September. It will have to happen in the big city hospital because the local OB is totally freaked about placenta previa (I can kind of understand her reasons, but I still think she's over-reacting, but whatever, I'm not arguing with it at this point).

Anyway, I want to get a good idea of when I'd be able to go home. The trip home from the city is about 3 hours.

How long is a typical post-c-section hospital stay?

Thanks!

[mauraa629]

Not sure if it's the same everywhere, but my first was emergency c/s. She was born on a Tuesday morning and I was able to leave hospital on Saturday morning.

[MamaJenese]

I knwo I coulds have stayed four days But I checked out after 36 hours (both times) with the blessing of my OB and Ped. (which you sort of need to get out of there). However if I had to sit in the car for three hours I might stay a little longer, for comfort reasons.

[Friday13th]

I believe you get 4 days, I left after 2 both times. I hate hospitals and would have left sooner if I could have talked the staff into it.

[MsBlack]

Originally Posted by MamaJenese

I knwo I coulds have stayed four days But I checked out after 36 hours (both times) with the blessing of my OB and Ped. (which you sort of need to get out of there). However if I had to sit in the car for three hours I might stay a little longer, for comfort reasons.

I agree that with a long drive, you may want to consider staying another day or overnight. But I got out just short of 48hrs of my csec--could have been a couple hours sooner, there is always such a lag between 'sure, go home now' and the hospital's actual processing of all the paperwork. Basically, though, med staff just wanted to be sure I was stable enough, and that a group of things had normally occurred--peeing, showering (being able to be on my feet, alone), incision looking good, no signs of infection, etc. (in my case, baby was born healthy, stayed with me, so no issues there to look at). Anyway--from what I've seen, in moms who are essentially healthy and healing well post-csec, discharge is generally 36-48hrs, often with option to stay another day or 2 even if not strictly 'needed'.

[seagull]

My first child was born early Wed, I went home Sat. morning. With my second csec, my caregiver to watch my son wasn't able to come. Things were a bit chaotic for other reasons too. Anyways, my child was born at 9 pm Thur and I went home at 9 am Sat.

[Mrs-Mama]

My DS was born on a Saturday and I left on a Tuesday. I felt like the last day was a waste and no point to me being there. So, when DD was born on a Monday, I left on a Wednesday

[hildare]

i think it totally depends on your insurance. if you have ins with a company, you can call them and ask, i think!
i was there 5 days. as a ftm, though, we were having bf problems, so i was in no hurry...

[AlexisT]

You are legally entitled to 96 hours. I know of ONE person who left before 24, and I cannot imagine the majority of CS patients are fit to go home at that point. At 24 hours I could barely shuffle, much less walk. I was technically discharged at 36, though I did not actually leave the hospital (I went to stay in the rooms reserved for mothers of NICU babies). In retrospect? I needed another day. I wound up with a separated, infected incision, and I think I just pushed it too far. Most women I know stayed 2-3 days--tending towards the shorter end for scheduled, uncomplicated sections with a healthy baby. (Mine was emergency, but no labor.)

I agree that with such a long drive I would not push for early discharge--you'll be very uncomfortable on the ride home. I would say a minimum of 2 days and quite possibly 3.

[Storm Bride]

It seems to vary slightly from hospital to hospital or region to region. I believe the standard here is 3 days for a scheduled c/s and either 4 or 5 with an emergency c/s. My stays have been:

1st (emergency): 5 days...and I wasn't ready to go home, except emotionally.
2nd (scheduled): 3 days
3rd (scheduled): 2 days - I pushed hard to get out of there
4th (emergency): 2 days...but I really wanted to go home, and I didn't have a new baby to look after.
5th (scheduled): 2 days - I told them upfront that I wanted to go home in 2 days, and had the go ahead from my OB, as long as everything was healing well, which it was.

I don't know anybody personally whose gone home sooner than two days (maybe slightly less than 48 hours, depending on the time of day). Honestly, most people irl think I'm crazy for not wanting the extra day of "relaxation", so 3 days seems to be standard. If I were facing a three-hour ride home, I think even I would stay the extra day. Three hours in a car post-op sounds grim.

[wombatclay]

The car ride... yeah. Give yourself as much time as possible and maybe ask about a dose of pain medication to take right before discharge? Also, find out who will remove the staples or sutures since you really don't want to drive 3hrs home and then go back a few days later if you can avoid it! If your local care provider wont remove staples/sutures then staying another day so the hospital can do it makes sense.

Have you checked out the Natural Family Living cesarean resource sticky? It has some good info for planning a c/s and recovering after.

[WifeofAnt]

I believe some insurances (including Tricare) REQUIRE at least a 48 hour stay. Its a really serious surgery so personally I'd stay as long as possible.

[crystal_buffaloe]

I had my baby on Friday and went home Monday morning after an unplanned c-section. I'm kind of glad to read other people's responses here, though, since I got "What are you still doing here??" from more than one doctor on Sunday. They removed my staples about 15 minutes before I left, so I was really glad to have stayed to get that "extra" time with the staples in.

[justKate]

Originally Posted by WifeofAnt

I believe some insurances (including Tricare) REQUIRE at least a 48 hour stay. Its a really serious surgery so personally I'd stay as long as possible.

FWIW, I had an emergen-c-section 2/09 on Tricare and was discharged 30 hours after my section. Baby born 3 a.m. Saturday; discharged 9 a.m. Sunday. This was a civilian hospital. I had a 4 hour car ride to the NICU immediately afterward, and let me tell you, it was rough. (Baby was airlifted, she's fine now.) I couldn't fly b/c I wasn't 48 hours post-op and if Huz had flown with the baby I wouldn't have had a ride to the NICU. The nurse was kind and tucked two pain pills into Huz's hand for me on the ride.

With a healthy baby, I too would stay as long as possible. Order take-out, tell the nurses to shove off and treat it like a hotel. I did end up pulling a couple of stiches, but I think that was from overexertion once I got to the nicu--lots of walking.

Hopefully, none of this will be applicable to you! Congrats on your baby to be.

[blessedwithboys]

I had ds1 (unplanned though not emergent c-sec) at 4pm on Friday and left the hospital Sunday around noon. I had my staples taken out the following Friday by my OB.

I had ds2 at 3am on a Wednesday and stayed until Saturday at noon. This c-sec was a planned VBAC but turned in to a non-emergent surgical birth. I had my staples removed right before discharge, which was so much nicer bc the first time around the staples were coming out on their own by day 7 and it hurt.

TBH, I had super easy recoveries both times. With ds2, I got home on Saturday and the next day I took my 4 day old and my 7.5yo and drove to the grocery store, filled my cart, bagged the food, loaded my trunk, drove home, and put everything away and made dinner. Very, very slowly, but still...

A 3 hour car ride would have been fine for me, if you have any doubts, treat yourself kindly and stay longer. I had no choice but to go back to full operating mode straight away. I was a single mother and had no help.

[mamalade]

Hi- I am sorry for your complication. I had mine on a Tuesday night and left on Friday around noon. We could have stayed longer, but I wanted to go home- I found it hard to sleep as DD wanted to nurse all the time and the little beds and lack of railing made me afraid to doze while she was on me (the meds made my arms shaky). I wanted to get to our bed so I could sleep! It was nice being brought food, however
So, If I were you just find out the min. and max days with your insurance and the hospital and see how you feel. That way you can do whatever feels right at the time. Good luck!
PS- You might have already written your birth plan, so please ignore this if so. I have given a lot of thought to my c-section and things I wish I could have done differently- I would have asked for (and likely gotten) some things. I didn't have anything about c-sections in my birth plan. PM me if you want my list, there is a lot too if you google "cesarean birth plan".

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by WifeofAnt

I believe some insurances (including Tricare) REQUIRE at least a 48 hour stay. Its a really serious surgery so personally I'd stay as long as possible.

This is a good point. If you're like me, and find it impossible to get any real rest in the hospital, it's probably best to leave quickly. Some people find the hospital restful, so that wouldn't apply for them. It really depends on the individual.

[Bokonon]

I was discharged at 48 hours post c-section with DD, which was kind of silly because my BP was all over the place and he took me off BP meds abruptly. But I got one good reading and wasn't going to argue with being discharged, especially because my son couldn't come visit because of H1N1 restrictions, so I hadn't seen him in days.

[Bokonon]

Considering your situation though, I would definitely recommend staying as long as they let you. A 3-hour drive while recovering from major surgery AND having a newborn in the car is not going to be pleasant. You will probably need to stop at least once for feeding, and that could take 30-60 minutes.

[BetsyS]

We live an hour from the hospital.

I stayed 36 hours after the first, 40 hours after the second, and 48 hours after the third.

I might stay 72 after the fourth. I really like the time to just be with my baby, without entertaining the olders. No laundry, they bring food to me, and it's just a time to relax. BUT...that's because at the hospital, they've basically always just left me and the baby alone. So, ymmv dramatically.