After labour...

[Pandora]

I think a alot depends on the hospital, how many births they have at the time, how much room there is etc. If you need to stay longer, and the have the resources, a lot of times you can. Its the having the resources part that can get in the way.

I gave birth in a public hospital, the standard was 3 nights but I think this may have recently changed to 2. I stayed four after the midwife walked in to my room on the day I was meant to leave and found me a sobbing mess on the floor. I got booked in to the breastfeeding day stay at the hospital for the following day, and they asked me if I wanted to stay another night but I said no, as it was too loud, and I felt like DS was disturbing the other mums (I'd been in a double/private room for the fist 3 nights, and a shared room with 3 people for the 4th)

I loved staying in hospital, I would never have coped with a birth centre (well unless I'd had my baby there and then booked into a private hospital...can you do that?)

ETA: with regard to day1, day2 etc when you are in hossy. Different hospitals have different "start" times for the day. Most are 12midnight or 12noon.

DS was born at 3:45am, and my hospital counted him as a day old cos their day started at midnight. The LC reckon if I'd been at the RWH in Melb, their day starts at noon, and that I would have had less pressure on me to comp feed (which I refused) becuase he would have been seen as day younger.

[Shanti]

Rayray.... thanks for your story too It gives me an idea as to what to expect and how different circumstances and hospitals treat people differently... when i'm pregnant i want to take a tour of the public hospital i am going to... it's only 10mins from our house. if we are happy with them then we will go with them otherwise the next hospital is 40mins drive up the coast and in labour i will not want to do that!!!