The amount of time a woman stays in hospital after the birth will depend on where she has her baby, the type of birth she experienced, what the hospital policy is, if the woman chooses to go home early (on early discharge) and if the woman or baby are unwell, or develop and any health complications.
The trend for women to stay in hospital for shorter periods of time after having a baby has been something that has accelerated in Australia over the last few decades. In the 1950's to 1970's the stay in hospital was typically 7 to 10 days after a normal birth and 12 to 14 days after a Caesarean. In the 1980's the stay would be about 5 to 7 days for a normal birth and 7 to 10 days for a Caesarean. In the late 1990's, the stay has moved down to about 3 to 5 days after a normal birth and 5 to 7 days for a Caesarean.
The combined overall average stay in hospital after having a vaginal or Caesarean birth in 2003 in Australia was 4 days (down from 5.3 days in 1991). This is a combined average of 5 days in private hospitals and 3 days in public hospitals. In 2003, 10.8% of women went home within 48 hours of the birth, reflecting how many women probably take up the early discharge program (compared with 3.2% in 1991).
Shorter hospital stays are intrinsically linked to public hospital budgetary restraints, and the push by private health insurers to save costs, for insured women staying in public and private hospitals. In the private hospital industry, the hospitals are keen to have women stay longer, because that is one way they can make money. However, this costs the private insurance companies more, who inevitably push to pay as little as possible. The trend therefore, has been for insurance companies to limit how many days they will rebate hospital accommodation fees. This has seen the stays for women in private hospitals also shorten, unless the woman is happy to pay for her own accommodation after a certain period of time elapses.