Going home after birth: what to prepare and expect on discharge day

Newborn · Wellbeing · Reviewed 20 June 2026 · All articles

The moment you have been waiting for is finally here: leaving the hospital or birth centre with your new baby and heading home as a family. For many parents, discharge day is a mix of joy, relief, and a quiet undercurrent of nerves. You are stepping out of a place with round-the-clock midwives and monitoring, into your own home where you are in charge. That is a big transition, and it helps to know exactly what to expect before the doors open and you buckle your baby in for that first drive.

This guide covers the whole arc of discharge day: the checks that happen before you leave, the paperwork and items you take home, the car seat rules that apply everywhere, the drive itself, and how to settle in once you get through your own front door. It also covers the community midwife visits that follow and the signs that mean you should pick up the phone without waiting.

When can you go home after giving birth

The answer depends on how your birth went and how both you and your baby are doing in the hours that follow. After a straightforward vaginal birth with no complications, most families are ready to go home somewhere between 6 and 24 hours after delivery. Some families choose to stay the full 24 hours for reassurance and extra support with feeding; others feel ready to leave after six hours once the required checks are done.

After a caesarean section, the timeline is longer. You will have had either a spinal or a general anaesthetic, and your body needs time to recover from major abdominal surgery. Most hospitals recommend staying 24 to 48 hours. During that time, staff will monitor your wound, make sure your bladder is functioning well, manage your pain, and help you find comfortable positions for feeding. Leaving earlier than 24 hours after a caesarean is possible in some settings but is less common.

If there were complications during birth, whether for you or your baby, the picture changes. Babies who need observation for breathing, blood sugar, infection risk, or jaundice may stay longer. Mothers who have had significant blood loss, high blood pressure, or other medical concerns will be assessed individually. Your midwife and the obstetric team will tell you clearly when discharge is safe and will not rush you out before the checks are complete.

Early discharge (sometimes called early transfer home) is available in some areas. A midwife comes to your home within hours of you leaving the hospital, so shorter stays are supported rather than simply cut short. Ask your team whether this is available where you live.

What midwives check before you leave

Before you go, the team will run through a set of checks for both you and your baby. None of these are just formalities: each one is there to catch something that could become a problem once you are at home without immediate medical support nearby.

For your baby, the midwife will check:

• Temperature. A newborn's temperature should be between 36.5 and 37.5 degrees Celsius. A baby who is too cold or showing signs of hypothermia needs warming and monitoring before going home.
• Feeding. The team wants to see at least one or two feeds established, whether breast or bottle. For breastfed babies, they will want to know that your baby is latching, sucking actively, and showing signs of swallowing. Formula-fed babies should have taken a feed without difficulties. If feeding is not going well, you will be given support before leaving, not sent home to struggle alone.
• Newborn checks. The full newborn physical examination (often called the NIPE) checks the heart, hips, eyes, and spine. This is usually done within 72 hours of birth, so it may happen before you leave or be arranged for community follow-up.
• Jaundice. A mild degree of jaundice is common in newborns in the first few days. The midwife will assess your baby's colour and may do a skin or blood test if there is any concern.
• Weight. Your baby's birth weight is recorded and will be used as the baseline for monitoring weight loss in the first few days (some loss is normal) and weight gain thereafter.
• Urine and meconium. Passing urine and the first dark sticky stool called meconium are reassuring signs that your baby's kidneys and bowels are working. If these have not happened, the team will want to know before discharge.

For you, the midwife will check:

• Bleeding (lochia). Some vaginal bleeding after birth is expected. The team will assess whether yours is within normal range.
• Blood pressure. High blood pressure can develop or persist in the days after birth, so this is checked before you leave.
• Wound or perineum. If you had a caesarean, your wound will be checked. If you had stitches after a tear or episiotomy, those will be reviewed too.
• Urine output. Being able to pass urine comfortably is checked, particularly after catheterisation for a caesarean.
• Emotional wellbeing. Your midwife will ask how you are feeling and will flag any early signs of postnatal distress for follow-up.

Documents and items you take home

Discharge day comes with paperwork, and it is worth knowing what each item is for so nothing gets lost in the chaos of packing up and saying goodbye to the ward.

The child health record (red book). In many countries a paper health record is given to parents at birth or shortly after. In the UK this is the Personal Child Health Record, almost always red. It follows your child through their entire childhood and is used by every health professional they see, from the health visitor to the school nurse. Keep it somewhere you can find it easily: you will need it at every appointment.

Neonatal screening results. The newborn bloodspot screening (heel prick test) is usually done at around five days, so the results may come later. However, any screening done in hospital, such as hearing screening, will have a result sheet for you to keep.

Discharge summary. A document summarising your birth, any treatment you or your baby received, and the plan for community follow-up. This should include contact numbers for your community midwife team and an out-of-hours line.

Medications. If you have been prescribed anything, such as iron supplements, pain relief, or a blood-thinning injection after caesarean, you will be given a supply and instructions on how to take them. Do not leave without checking you have everything and understand the doses.

Feeding resources. If you are breastfeeding, you may be given contact details for a lactation consultant or breastfeeding support group. Take these: support in the first week makes a real difference.

Car seat safety for the journey home

This is not optional, and most hospitals will not allow you to leave without it: your baby must travel in a rear-facing infant car seat that is correctly fitted to your vehicle. Rear-facing is the safest position for a newborn because it distributes the force of a collision across the whole back, neck, and head, rather than putting all the strain on a neck that cannot yet support its own weight.

A few things to sort out before your due date rather than on discharge morning:

• Buy or borrow the right seat. Infant car seats (Group 0 or Group 0+) are designed for babies from birth to around 13 kg. Make sure the seat you choose is approved for use in your country and has not been involved in a collision (which can weaken the structure invisibly).
• Install it in the car beforehand. Read the manual for both the seat and your car. Many areas have car seat fitting services, often run by fire stations or retailers, where a trained person will check the installation for free. Use this service if it is available: incorrect installation is extremely common.
• Practice the harness. You will be adjusting the harness with a very new, very sleepy baby in a hospital car park while still sore from birth. Practise the buckles, straps, and recline adjustment before that moment arrives.
• Never place a rear-facing seat in front of an active airbag. If your car has a front passenger airbag that cannot be deactivated, the rear-facing seat must go in the back seat.
• Check the fit for your baby's size. The harness should sit at or just below your baby's shoulders and should be snug enough that you cannot pinch any slack at the shoulder.

The drive home: keeping it calm

For many babies the rhythmic motion of a car is soothing, and you may find your newborn falls asleep within minutes. Even so, there are a few things worth keeping in mind for the journey.

Keep the drive as short and direct as possible. If you live far from the hospital, plan to stop if needed rather than rushing through. Have someone in the back seat with the baby if possible, particularly for longer journeys. A newborn should not spend extended time in a car seat (more than around 30 minutes at a stretch) because the semi-reclined position can affect breathing in very young babies. This is not a reason to avoid going home, but it is a reason to pause and take the baby out if your journey is long.

Drive gently and avoid sudden braking. The driver should focus on the road rather than checking on the baby: that is the job of the person in the back. Keep the car at a comfortable temperature and avoid loud music or radio. Your baby has just come from a highly stimulating birth environment and benefits from calm.

If at any point during the journey your baby seems to be struggling to breathe, appears pale or blue around the lips, or is unresponsive, stop the car safely and call the emergency services.

The first day at home: settling in gently

Coming through your front door with a baby who is less than a day old is one of those moments that people describe as simultaneously wonderful and surreal. There are a few things you can do to make the first hours and day go as smoothly as possible.

Keep it quiet. It is tempting to share the joy with everyone immediately. Resist the urge to invite a crowd on day one. Your baby is adjusting to a completely new environment: new sounds, temperatures, smells, and light levels. You are also adjusting, often while managing soreness, emotional swings, and extreme tiredness. A calm house is genuinely kinder to all of you than a busy one.

Limit visitors. If family or friends are keen to come, suggest they visit briefly, bring food rather than expect to be fed, hold the baby only if you are comfortable with it, and leave before you are exhausted. You can always ask people to come back in a week when the immediate intensity has eased.

Have a feeding station ready. Whether you are breastfeeding or formula feeding, having everything in one place makes the inevitable frequent feeds less draining. Water, snacks, a phone charger, muslin cloths, and any feeding equipment should all be within arm's reach of where you plan to sit most often.

Sleep when you can. The advice to sleep when the baby sleeps is given so often it can feel like a cliche. It is still true. The first night home is often harder than nights in the hospital because you no longer have a buzzer to press. Try to sleep in shifts with your partner if you have one, or ask a family member to be on baby duty for a few hours so you can sleep uninterrupted.

Watch for feeding cues. In the first 24 hours, some babies are very sleepy and do not demand feeds vigorously. You should aim for at least 8 to 12 feeds in 24 hours for a breastfed baby, and will need to wake your baby if they are not rousing themselves. The community midwife will advise you on this at the first home visit.

Community midwife visits after discharge

Leaving hospital does not mean leaving midwifery care. A community midwife will visit you at home, typically within 24 hours of your discharge. This first visit is a check-in for both you and your baby and an opportunity to ask all the questions you did not get to ask before leaving.

At the first visit the midwife will usually:

• Weigh your baby and record the result in the red book
• Check feeding and offer practical help if needed
• Assess jaundice by looking at your baby's skin and eyes in good light
• Check your lochia and wound or perineum
• Ask about your mood and any concerns you have
• Arrange the next visit and tell you when to expect the heel prick screening test

Midwifery visits continue until your baby is around 10 to 14 days old, though the schedule varies. After that, care transfers to your health visitor, who will do a new birth visit and then schedule developmental checks through the first years of life.

If you have any concerns between visits, you can call your community midwife directly. The number will be on your discharge paperwork. Most teams also have an out-of-hours line for evenings and weekends.

What to call the midwife about in the first days

Knowing when something needs a call versus when it is normal variation gives you genuine peace of mind. The following are signs that mean you should contact your midwife or, in an emergency, call 999 or 112 without delay.

For your baby:

• Not waking for feeds or refusing to feed
• No wet nappy in the first 24 hours after birth, or fewer than 6 wet nappies per day from day 4 onwards
• No meconium (first dark stool) passed within 24 hours of birth
• Yellow skin or whites of the eyes, particularly if it appears in the first 24 hours or spreads rapidly (jaundice in the first day of life is always an urgent concern)
• Breathing that seems fast, laboured, or irregular
• Blue colouring around the lips
• A temperature below 36.5 or above 37.5 degrees Celsius
• A sunken fontanelle (the soft spot on top of the head), which can indicate dehydration
• A bulging fontanelle when calm, which can indicate raised pressure
• Umbilical cord that is red, smells unpleasant, or has discharge around the base

For you:

• Bleeding that soaks more than one maternity pad per hour
• Passage of large clots
• Fever above 38 degrees Celsius
• Pain, redness, or swelling in the wound, perineum, or legs
• Difficulty passing urine or pain when doing so
• Headache, visual disturbances, or sudden swelling of the face or hands (possible signs of high blood pressure)
• Feeling very low, tearful beyond what seems normal, or having thoughts of harming yourself or your baby

Your discharge paperwork will include the number for your community midwife team and an out-of-hours line. Save both numbers in your phone before you leave the hospital.

Frequently asked questions

How soon after birth can I go home?

After a straightforward vaginal birth, most families can go home between 6 and 24 hours after delivery, once routine checks are complete and feeding is going well. After a caesarean section, most hospitals suggest staying 24 to 48 hours. The timing also depends on how you and your baby are doing, so your midwife will make the final assessment.

Do I need a car seat to leave the hospital?

Yes. Your baby must travel in an approved rear-facing infant car seat that is correctly fitted to your car. Most hospitals will not allow you to leave without one. The seat should be installed before your due date so you can practise fitting it correctly.

When will the community midwife visit after discharge?

A community midwife will usually visit within 24 hours of you arriving home. After that, visits continue until your baby is around 10 to 14 days old, then your care transfers to the health visitor. If you have concerns between visits, you can contact the midwife by phone.

What should I call the midwife about in the first few days at home?

Call your midwife if your baby is not waking for feeds, has not passed urine or meconium within 24 hours of birth, appears very yellow (jaundice), is breathing irregularly, or if you have heavy bleeding, signs of infection, or feel very unwell. Your discharge paperwork will include an out-of-hours number to use overnight or at weekends.