Women of a certain generation would perhaps be horrified to learn that the average length of stay for a vaginal birth in a Canberra public hospital was 1.4 days, the lowest in the country. The figures, from data published last week by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, are in stark contrast to previous generations, when women stayed in hospital for up to a week, resting, recuperating and learning how to care for a new baby.

But while the modern trend tends towards treating childbirth as a normal part of life, with the underlying message that hospital beds should be kept for sick people, it is clear that the churn of women through the maternity wards is related to a lack of resourcing as much as a modern-day philosophy.

The ACT is not the only jurisdiction to be following this trend; the average length of stay for vaginal births across Australia is trending downward, sitting at 1.7 days. Canberra is just behind Queensland, which has an average length of stay for vaginal births of 1.5 days. But there have been concerns among doctors at Canberra's hospitals about the national trend towards shorter stays, as many complications are not always immediately apparent in the hours after a woman gives birth.

ACT Australian Medical Association secretary Steve Robson - who is also an obstetrician - says capacity issues at Canberra Hospital's maternity ward no doubt affected how long women stayed in hospital after birth. He says there are well-documented capacity issues at Canberra Hospital that needed to be addressed.

"It is very difficult to get beds there and of course that means the more women who are discharged the more you can get a bed for someone who has just had a baby," he said last week.

For its part, following previous criticism from anonymous staff, Canberra Hospital has maintained patients were never discharged until it was clinically appropriate. In this light, the hospital could be seen as being admirably efficient, sending women home with an emphasis on the health and normality of a successful birth. In many cases, women are eager to leave the confines of the hospital, return home and begin bonding with their new babies as soon as possible.

But as a measure of a good health system, is this figure really the best we can do? There should never be undue pressure on a woman who feels less than able to return to normality after what, for just as many, is a cataclysmic life event. Especially not when the implication is that she may be unduly taking up a bed for someone who needs it more.

Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris has reiterated that the government is working to upgrade Canberra Hospital's maternity wards and has recently refurbished Calvary Public Hospital's maternity ward. But she is also at pains to point out data showing the ACT was managing increases in demand for public hospital services, noting the territory had the highest growth in emergency admissions involving surgery across the country.

This is all well and good, but maternity wards are just as stark an indicator of the quality of a health system as its emergency admissions. It should not be a case of either/or. Women deserve the best care after delivering their babies in the territory, and if this means a night or two longer in an environment best-placed to care for them, this should be the ultimate aim.