Editing Childbirth (section)

===Discharge===
{{See also|Early postnatal hospital discharge}}
For births that occur in hospitals the WHO recommends a hospital stay of at least 24 hours following an uncomplicated vaginal delivery and 96 hours for a Cesarean section.  Looking at length of stay (in 2016) for an uncomplicated delivery around the world shows an average of less than 1 day in Egypt to 6 days in (pre-war) Ukraine.  Averages for Australia are 2.8 days and 1.5 days in the UK.<ref name="businessinsider.com">{{cite web |last1=Harrington |first1=Rebecca |title=American women giving birth leave the hospital as quickly as women in Haiti and Kenya |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/length-hospital-time-after-giving-birth-2016-3 |website=Insider |access-date=20 March 2022 |archive-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521024824/https://www.businessinsider.com/length-hospital-time-after-giving-birth-2016-3 |url-status=live }}</ref> While this number is low, two-thirds of women in the UK have midwife-assisted births and in some cases the mother may choose a hospital setting for birth to be closer to the wide range of assistance available for an emergency situation.  However, women with midwife care may leave the hospital shortly after birth and her midwife will continue her care at her home.<ref>{{cite web |title=Where to give birth: the options |url=https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/labour-and-birth/preparing-for-the-birth/where-to-give-birth-the-options/ |website=NHS |date=December 2020 |access-date=20 May 2022 |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214201435/https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/labour-and-birth/preparing-for-the-birth/where-to-give-birth-the-options/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In the U.S. the average length of stay has gradually dropped from 4.1 days in 1970 to a current stay of 2 days.  The CDC attributed the drop to the rise in health care costs, saying people could not afford to stay in the hospital any longer. To keep it from dropping any lower, in 1996 Congress passed the [[Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act]] that requires insurers to cover at least 48 hours for uncomplicated delivery.<ref name="businessinsider.com"/>