Postnatal length of stay refers to the number of days between the birth event and date of discharge or transfer from the hospital where birth occurred, or death. Data on postnatal length of stay are based on mothers who gave birth in hospitals and were discharged to home and exclude data from Western Australia.
A mother’s postnatal length of stay is related to maternal factors, such as recovery after birth particularly for caesarean section birth, management of obstetric and maternal health conditions, management of conditions related to the baby and health system factors such as resourcing pressures (Rayner et al. 2008; Blumenfeld et al. 2015).
The aims of postnatal care in hospital are to provide mothers and their partners and/or family with advice and support around physical recovery, breastfeeding, parenting skills and linking to supports in the community (Rayner et al. 2008).
In one study, Australian mothers – particularly first-time mothers – reported concerns related to confidence in caring for their baby and access to the support of health professionals if their postnatal stay in hospital was deemed to be too short (McLachlan et al. 2009). In a separate study, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers reported disappointment in a lack of continuity of care through to the postnatal period (Sivertsen et a. 2020).
In 2020, 8.2% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females who gave birth had a postnatal stay of less than 1 day, 77% had a postnatal stay of 1-3 days, 13% had a postnatal stay of 4-6 days and 1.9% had a postnatal stay of 7 days or more (compared with 5.2%, 69%, 25% and 1.1% of non-Indigenous females).
Between 2010 and 2020 the postnatal length of stay for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers has shortened, with an increase in postnatal stays of 3 days or less (from 75% in 2010 to 85% in 2020) and a decrease in postnatal stays of 4 days or more (from 25% in 2010 to 15% in 2020). There were changes during this period for postnatal stays of less than 1 day (from 5.6% in 2010 to 8.2% in 2020), 1-3 days (from 69% in 2010 to 77% in 2020), 4-6 days (from 21% to 13%) and 7 days or more (from 4.0% in 2010 to 1.9% in 2020).
The data visualisation below shows the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous females who gave birth in hospital and were discharged home by grouped postnatal length of stay, from 2010.