I was in for a few days with my first born, my son and he was a preemie. As soon as he gained a little, the doctor let us go home, but I think it was only partly because he knew my mom and other family members would be available. My second child, first daughter was so easy to have, come the day she was predicted around 9a...I went home the next morning, with her, after spending the night talking with my room-mate, a hairdresser. We had so much fun! The third and last one, second daughter, came early and, I kept telling them she wouldn't wait. I was in the labour room, the doc came running around the corner just as she was born and I almost bled out. She was about 3.5 lbs, they had delayed her birth by two weeks to give her lungs a chance to develop more. They spent that night making sure I would not check out...I had been *floating* around watching them work over my body when I went into shock. Anyway, I think we stayed 2-3 days, then he released us, again, because family was nearby, I was an EMT, and an experienced mom by then.

I used to feel sorry for the moms who belonged to religions which supported having lots of children. Often we'd try to keep them an extra day or two as it was the only rest they ever got. One woman's uterus was so worn out, when she gave birth at 7 months her uterus fell out with the baby.

Seems to me this is just another way of society saying it cares about women and children, but really *showing* it does not by such dis-honouring.