Early discharge - baby is well
Early discharge - baby is well but 'at risk'
Early discharge - baby is unwell
Early discharge - baby is well. If the baby is well they will be allowed to go home with the mother on the early discharge program (this will depend on the mother being well also). Early discharge from the hospital can be any time from 4 to 48 hours after the birth.
The mother and her baby will be discharged from the delivery suite, birth centre or postnatal ward (depending on how soon they wish to go home). Stays in the delivery suite after the birth are typically 1 to 2 hours, so early discharge will normally happen after the mother has transferred to the postnatal ward. Some birth centres will facilitate the woman staying there until they go home on early discharge (depending on how busy they are).
Partners may wish to stay with the woman until she goes home (if it is within hours of the birth) or they may go home after the woman settles into the postnatal ward. Again you may be able to stay overnight with your partner if the hospital supplies a foldout bed and is happy to facilitate this.
Early discharge - baby is well but 'at risk'. If the baby appears well but your caregiver is concerned about the possibility of them becoming unwell in the following 24 hours, they will probably advise that you both stay in the hospital until the observations are completed (24 to 48 hours later). If the baby remains well then both mother and baby can go home on the early discharge program after the observations are completed.
Early discharge - baby is unwell. If the baby is unwell they will need to be transferred to the intensive care nursery. This will essentially rule out any plans for early release, unless the baby recovers rapidly and the caregiver feels early discharge is reasonable.