New born baby boy resting in mothers arms

Mothers and their newborn babies are leaving hospitals more quickly after birth occur thanks to new infection prevention practices implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. This conclusion was met following a study carried out at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, reports News Medical Life Sciences.

Researchers examined how new practices such as temperature screenings, requiring staff to wear personal protective equipment and limiting the amount of visitors to the hospital changed things in the medical center's Labor and Delivery Unit. They reviewed the results of more than 1,900 deliveries that took place in one of two time frames: between January and February of 2020 or between March and April of 2020.

About half of all mothers who gave birth vaginally after the safety protocols were put in place stayed just one night in the hospital. Before these changes were made, only a quarter of mothers who gave birth this same way left after one night. In fact, mothers who gave birth vaginally before the pandemic-related protocols were put in place had an average hospital stay of two nights.

Mothers who gave birth via cesarean delivery were much more likely to leave after two days or less after the protocols were put in place. For comparison, just 12 percent of mothers were discharged within two days of a cesarean delivery before the new protocols.