Nation IN BRIEF : ILLINOIS : 48-Hour Childbirth Hospital Stay Urged

Most mothers and babies need to stay in the hospital at least 48 hours after childbirth, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the nation’s largest group of pediatricians, said. Increasingly, insurers are refusing payment for hospital stays beyond 24 hours after an uncomplicated delivery, said the statement from the 49,000-member academy, based in Elk Grove Village near Chicago. Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina have enacted laws to ensure that mothers and newborns have at least 48 hours in the hospital under most circumstances, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The timing of the discharge should be decided by the doctor and not by “arbitrary policy” established by a third-party, the doctors said.