Newborns' hospital stays and the law.

The average hospital stay of newborns in California increased significantly after federal and state legislation aimed at reducing the incidence of early discharge went into effect, but some groups of infants appear to have benefited more than others. (1) Between 1991 and 1997, just before the laws were adopted, the average stay declined by about an hour a year; it grew by 10 hours in 1998, by 12 hours in 1999 and by 14 hours in 2000. Increases were particularly large for infants whose mothers had at least a high school education, were aged 35 or older, were white, had not given birth before and delivered by cesarean. Although the laws do not apply to births to women who are covered by Medicaid or have no insurance, the length of stay increased for these groups as well as those with other types of insurance. The odds that an infant would be readmitted to the hospital within 28 days after birth, which also had increased each year from 1991 to 1997, dropped substantially in each of the next three years. No change occurred in the risk that an infant would die by age one. Data limitations preclude inferences of causality.

(1.) Datar A and Sood N, Impact of postpartum hospital-stay legislation on newborn length of stay, readmission, and mortality in California, Pediatrics, 2006, 118(1):63-72.