TRENDS AND VARIATIONS IN LENGTH OF HOSPITAL STAY FOR CHILDBIRTH IN CANADA

Background: Early discharge after childbirth is widely reported. In th is study the authors examined trends in maternal length of hospital st ay in Canada from fiscal year 1984-85 through fiscal year 1994-95. The y also examined variations in length of stay in 1994-95 in most of the Canadian provinces and the territories. Methods: Epidemiologic analys es of the temporal and geographic variations in maternal length of hos pital stay in Canada from 1984-85 to 1994-95 (even years only), based on hospital discharge data collected by the Canadian Institute for Hea lth Information, with a total of 1 456 800 women for the 6 study years . Results: Mean length of hospital stay decreased during the decade, f rom 5.3 days in 1984-85 to 3.0 days in 1994-95, with similar trends fo r both cesarean and vaginal delivery. The decrease resulted from both increasing rates of short stay (less than 2 days) and decreasing rates of long stay (more than 4 days). Substantial temporal and interprovin cial variations in several medical and obstetric complications were al so observed but did not explain the corresponding variations in length of stay. The reduction in length of hospital slay was not restricted to uncomplicated cases: there was an equivalent decrease in cases with complications. In 1994-95 the average length of hospital stay in Albe rta was 2.6 days, 0.3 to 1.7 days shorter than in the other provinces and the territories. Interpretation: Length of hospital stay for child birth has decreased substantially in Canada in recent years, but there remain important interprovincial variations. These trends and variati ons are not likely due to changes or differences in patient-specific f actors.