Women around the world are leaving hospitals too soon after giving birth, according to a new analysis.
The World Health Organization suggests that women stay in the hospital at least 24 hours after a vaginal delivery, but researchers found that depending on the region, up to 83 percent of women left before that cutoff.
Also, up to 75 percent of women left hospitals too soon after cesarean-section deliveries, based on U.S. recommendations and laws.
“In some countries women are getting discharged incredibly early,” said lead author Oona Campbell, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The research team’s overall goal is to measure quality of care, she told Reuters Health, and to that end, “Length of stay is one thing that we’re really trying to get a handle on.”
Campbell and her colleagues analyzed average hospital stays after childbirth in 92 countries – including 45 middle-income and 10 low-income countries.
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