Earlier discharge for newborns may increase health risks

A Toronto study suggests that the trend to early discharge of newborn infants after uncomplicated vaginal delivery may not be good for the babies Drs Michael Lock and Joel Ray found that a fall in the average stay from 2.1 to 1.9 days was associated with a rise in the readmission rate of newborn infants from 5.2% to 10.4% The primary cause for readmission was neonatal jaundice.

The study was carried out among all 7009 infants …