How Long Do Women Stay in the Hospital After Birth? a Look Around the World

Baby’s first day home is a big deal. But what about mom’s? A new study took a look at when exactly mothers go home after labor and delivery. And depending on where in the world you live, it’s very different.

The PLOS Medicine study determined that here in the US, women who deliver one baby vaginally typically head home after two days in the hospital. That’s on the low end of the spectrum of the 71 countries analyzed—Ukrainian women benefit from longer stays, topping off the list at 6.2 days. On the other hand, new moms in Egypt usually head home half a day after giving birth.

While a lengthy hospital stay certainly isn’t something to look forward to, it is indicative of better health care standards. The CDC reports that in 1981, American women were averaging nearly 4 days in hospital recovery after birth. But an increase in health care costs has forced this number down.

To prevent that number from dipping too far down in the US, Congress passed the Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act in 1996, requiring insurers to cover at least 48 hours of hospital stay for complication-free vaginal deliveries and 96 hours for c-sections. On a global scale, the World Health Organization recommends women remain hospitalized for 24 hours after a vaginal birth.

Take a look at how other countries stack up in the chart within the report. The takeaway from the research? Most countries need more resources to allow for adequate postpartum hospital stays.

“Globally, women are encouraged to deliver in facilities in the first instance because this is the easiest place to provide skilled birth attendance,” the conclusion reads. “Ensuring that such care is available, and that women and their newborns stay long enough to receive it, is essential. The challenge will be to identify the resources and commitment to increase lengths of stay that are too short, while also ensuring that any increase in time spent in facilities is used to actually provide appropriate-quality care.”

(H/T Business Insider)