Early postnatal hospital discharge

Early postnatal hospital discharge generally refers to the postpartum hospital discharge of the mother and newborn within 48 hours.^[1] The duration of what is considered "early discharge" varies between countries from 12 to 72 hours due to the differences in average duration of hospital stay.^[2] The World Health Organization recommends healthy mothers and newborns following an uncomplicated vaginal delivery at a health facility to stay and receive care at the facility for at least 24 hours after delivery.^[3] This recommendation is based on findings which suggest that the first 24 hours after giving birth poses the greatest risks for both the mother and newborn.^[4]

The length of postnatal hospital stay has changed internationally since the 19th century when giving birth at hospitals were first introduced.^[5] Following World War II, the length of postnatal hospital discharge has been declining, leading to global increases in early postnatal hospital discharge.^[5][6][7]

Conclusions regarding the effects of early postnatal hospital discharge on mothers and newborns remain unclear.^[8] This is due to inconsistency of the definition of early postnatal hospital discharge, methodologies and clinical interventions between research studies.^[8] Research findings have suggested adverse effects for mothers regarding breastfeeding and depression, whereas others have suggested no differences and even positive effects.^{[2][9][10][11][12][13][14]} Similarly, mixed conclusions have been found on the influence of early postnatal hospital discharge on the morbidity of newborns.^{[13][15][16][17][18]}