Where We Stand: Newborn Discharge from Hospital

The timing of newborn discharge from the hospital should be a mutual decision between the parents and the physician caring for the infant. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes that the health and well-being of the mother and her baby should take precedence over financial considerations.

Academy policy has established minimum criteria for early discharge of a mother and her baby, which include term delivery, appropriate growth, and normal physical examination, and states that it is unlikely that all of its criteria can be met in less than forty-eight hours.

The Academy supports state and federal legislation based on AAP guidelines as long as physicians, in consultation with parents, have the final authority in determining when to discharge the patient.