Maternal length of stay in hospital
This section focuses on the maternal antenatal (prior to giving birth) and postnatal (after giving birth) length of stay in hospital and includes only mothers who gave birth in hospital.
Antenatal length of stay
Antenatal length of stay refers to the number of days between admission to hospital and the birth event. Data on antenatal length of stay include mothers who gave birth in hospitals only.
For more information on antenatal length of stay, see Maternal length of stay in hospital in Australia's mothers and babies.
Changes in clinical practice and guidelines, and concerns over exposure to COVID-19, may have resulted in changes to the length of antenatal stay in hospital.
Figure 21 presents data on length of antenatal stay in hospital.
Figure 21: Proportion of women who gave birth in hospital, by length of antenatal stay and state and territory of birth, 2015 to 2021
Line graph shows length of antenatal stay by state and territory of birth between 2015 and 2021.
Between 2015 and 2019, the proportion of women who had an antenatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less decreased across Australia (from 93.9% in 2015 to 92.2% in 2019). Modelling showed that there was an annual decrease of 0.5 percentage points. The observed proportion of women who had an antenatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less was 92.5% in 2020 and 92.1% in 2021, which was similar to the predicted proportion based on the modelling (91.7% in 2020 and 91.2% in 2021).
Data for modelling exclude 'Not stated' data and therefore may not match the proportions presented in the data visualisation above. For more information on modelling the trend over time, see Methods.
Women who lived in some geographical locations were more likely to have an antenatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less. Explore the map below (Figure 22) to view data on the number and proportion of women who had an antenatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less by PHN, remoteness and SA3.
Figure 22: Proportion of women who gave birth in hospital and had an antenatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less, by selected geography, 2017 to 2021
Map shows proportion of women who had an antenatal stay of 1 day or less by selected geographies and years.
Postnatal length of stay
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 date of death. Data on postnatal length of stay are based on mothers who gave birth in hospitals and were discharged to home. This section excludes Western Australia as data are not available for women discharged to home.
For more information on postnatal length of stay, see Maternal length of stay in hospital in Australia's mothers and babies.
The World Health Organization (2022) recommends that after an uncomplicated vaginal birth in a health facility, healthy mothers and newborns should receive care in the facility for at least 24 hours after birth. 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).
During the pandemic, there was a general shift to shorter hospital stays (AIHW 2023). This may have been due to concerns about exposure to COVID-19, changes in practice guidelines or women requesting an early discharge because of strict visiting rules (Semaan et al. 2022).
Pregnant women with COVID-19 are at increased risk of being admitted to the intensive care unit (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023; Smith et al. 2023), which corresponds to a longer time spent in hospital after giving birth (Gurol-Urganci et al. 2021).
Figure 23 presents data on length of postnatal stay in hospital.
Figure 23: Proportion of women who gave birth in hospital, by length of postnatal stay and state and territory of birth, 2015 to 2021
Line graph shows length of postnatal stay by state and territory of birth between 2015 and 2021.
Between 2015 and 2019, the proportion of women who had a postnatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less increased (from 20.7% in 2015 to 21.7% in 2019). Modelling showed that this was an annual increase of 0.2 percentage points. The observed proportion of women who had a postnatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less was 25.9% in 2020 and 26.9% in 2021, which was higher than the predicted proportions based on the modelling (22.0% in 2020 and 22.2% in 2021). This equated to around 21,840 more mothers staying in hospital for one day or less following a hospital birth than predicted in 2020 and 2021 combined.
Data for modelling exclude 'Not stated' data and therefore may not match the proportions presented in the data visualisation above. For more information on modelling the trend over time, see Methods.
Women who lived in some geographical locations were more likely to have a postnatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less. Explore the map below (Figure 24) to view data on the number and proportion of women who had a postnatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less by PHN, remoteness and SA3.
Figure 24: Proportion of women who gave birth in hospital and had a postnatal length of stay in hospital of 1 day or less, by selected geography, 2017 to 2021
Map shows proportion of women who had a postnatal stay of 1 day or less by selected geographies and years.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2023) Australia’s mothers and babies, AIHW, Australian Government.
Blumenfeld YJ, El-Sayed YY, Lyell DJ, Nelson LM and Butwick AJ (2015) ‘Risk Factors for Prolonged Postpartum Length of Stay Following Cesarean Delivery’, American Journal of Perinatology, 32(9), doi:10.1055/s-0034-1543953.
Department of Health and Aged Care (2023) Pregnancy, breastfeeding and COVID-19 vaccines, Department of Health and Aged Care website.
Gurol-Urganci I, Jardine JE, Carroll F, Draycott T, Dunn G, Fremeaux A, Harris T, Hawdon J, Morris E, Muller P, Waite L, Webster K, van der Meulen J and Khalil A (2021) ‘Maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of birth in England: national cohort study’, Am J Obstet Gynecol, 225(5):522, doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2021.05.016.
Rayner J, Forster D, McLachlan H, Yelland J and Davey M (2008) ‘A state-wide review of hospital postnatal care in Victoria, Australia: The views and experiences of midwives’, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 24, doi:10.1016/j.midw.2006.10.008.
Semaan A, Dey T, Kikula A, Asefa A, Delvaux T, Langlois EV, van den Akker T and Benova L (2022) ‘Separated during the first hours"-Postnatal care for women and newborns during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods cross-sectional study from a global online survey of maternal and newborn healthcare providers’, PLOS Glob Public Health, 2(4):214, doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0000214.
Smith ER, Oakley E, Grandner GW, Ferguson K, Farooq F, Afshar Y, Ahlberg M, Ahmadzia H, Akelo V, Aldrovandi G, Tippett Barr BA, Bevilacqua E, Brandt JS, Broutet N, Fernández Buhigas I, Carrillo J, Clifton R, Conry J, Cosmi E, Crispi F, Crovetto F, Delgado-López C, Divakar H, Driscoll AJ, Favre G, Flaherman VJ, Gale C, Gil MM, Gottlieb SL, Gratacós E, Hernandez O, Jones S, Kalafat E, Khagayi S, Knight M, Kotloff K, Lanzone A, Le Doare K, Lees C, Litman E, Lokken EM, Laurita Longo V, Madhi SA, Magee LA, Martinez-Portilla RJ, McClure EM, Metz TD, Miller ES, Money D, Moungmaithong S, Mullins E, Nachega JB, Nunes MC, Onyango D, Panchaud A, Poon LC, Raiten D, Regan L, Rukundo G, Sahota D, Sakowicz A, Sanin-Blair J, Söderling J, Stephansson O, Temmerman M, Thorson A, Tolosa JE, Townson J, Valencia-Prado M, Visentin S, von Dadelszen P, Adams Waldorf K, Whitehead C, Yassa M and Tielsch JM (2023) ‘Adverse maternal, fetal, and newborn outcomes among pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection: an individual participant data meta-analysis’, BMJ Glob Health, 8(1):9495, doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009495.
WHO (World Health Organization) (2022) WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience, WHO, accessed 25 July 2022.