Early Discharge with Domiciliary Visits and Hospital Care

ABSTRACT. Parents' experiences of two modes of post‐partum care are described: hospital discharge 24–48 h after the birth followed by domiciliary visits by a midwife and traditional hospital care. Women interested in participating in an early discharge study were, in late pregnancy, randomly allocated to an experimental group (EG, n= 50) offered the first alternative, and a control group (CG, n= 54) offered the second. A random sample of the non‐participants (NP group, n= 240) was also collected. Ninety‐two per cent of the women and 83% of the men in the EG had only a positive experience of the early discharge programme, while only 40 and 30% of the CG women and men respectively, had only positive experience of the hospital post‐partum period. Parents with no interest in early discharge (NP group), however, had better experience of the hospital care: 78% of the women and 66% of the men were positive. EG and CG parents emphasised the home setting as more natural and calm, and the importance for the family to be together. They wanted early discharge in order to be close to the newborn both day and night, and not to be separated from the other children. Parents in the NP group emphasised the medical security and support, and the opportunity for the mother to rest in hospital.