[Early postpartum hospital discharge in France]

Early postpartum discharge is a recent practice in France and for which there are few national data.

The Sentinel AUDIPOG network was used to describe the practice of postpartum early discharge (< 3 days in case of vaginal delivery and < 5 days in case of caesarean section) from 1994 till 2002, after standardization on the distribution according to the type of hospital and the region (n = 128232). Secondarily, the prognostic medical factors of an early postpartum hospital discharge were researched, in univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis, of the births of 2001-2002.

Early postpartum discharges concerned 3% of the deliveries in 1997 and 7% in 2002. Eearly postpartum discharge was more frequent in the level II and III obstetric facilities, in non- university hospitals, in facilities with more than 1 500 deliveries a year, in urban hospitals and in Paris and the surrounding area. The women leaving early in the postpartum were more often multiparas, with no pregnancy pathology, with a single pregnancy, without postpartum hemorrhage, and a child > 2500 g without risk of infection. At present, 40% of vaginal delivery and 25% of caesarean section primiparas and 55% of vaginal delivery and 30% of caesarean section multiparas could be discharged early.

The reduction of the postpartum hospital stay is inevitable but it is advisable to take care that the women who are discharged are medically fit for discharge.