Your postpartum checkups

Key POINTS

  • A postpartum checkup is a medical checkup you become afterward having a baby to make certain you lot're recovering well from labor and birth.

  • Postpartum intendance is of import because new moms are at risk of serious and sometimes life-threatening health complications.

  • Make a postpartum care plan with your provider during pregnancy and talk to your provider about your postpartum care team.

  • Go a complete postpartum checkup no after than 12 weeks later giving nascency.

  • If yous had pregnancy complications or you have a chronic wellness condition, you lot may demand extra postpartum checkups.

What is a postpartum checkup and why is it of import?

A postpartum checkup is a medical checkup you get afterward having a baby to make sure you're recovering well from labor and birth. Become to your postpartum checkups, even if you're feeling fine. They're an important part of your overall pregnancy care. Postpartum care is important because new moms are at adventure of serious and sometimes life-threatening health complications in the days and weeks subsequently giving birth. Besides many new moms have or even die from health problems that may exist prevented past getting postpartum care.

Postpartum checkups are important for whatever new mom. They're specially important for moms who have a loss, including:

  • Miscarriage. This is when a baby dies in the womb before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
  • Stillbirth. This is when a babe dies in the womb afterward twenty weeks of pregnancy.
  • Neonatal death. This is when a baby dies in the start 28 days of life.

When these things happen, your postpartum checkups may help your wellness care provider or a genetic advisor learn more nearly what happened and see if you may be at take chances for the same status in another pregnancy. A genetic counselor is a person who is trained to help yous understand about genes, birth defects and other medical conditions that run in families, and how they can affect your health and your baby'south health.

What's inverse in postpartum care guidelines?

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (besides called ACOG) has released new guidelines calling for changes to improve postpartum care for women. In the past, ACOG recommended that most women have a postpartum checkup iv to half dozen weeks after giving birth. ACOG now says that postpartum care should be an ongoing procedure, rather than a one-time checkup. ACOG now recommends that all women:

  • Have contact with their wellness care provider within 3 weeks of giving birth
  • Get ongoing medical care during the postpartum catamenia, as needed
  • Have a complete postpartum checkup no later than 12 weeks afterwards giving birth

Many of the discomforts and body changes women accept in the weeks later giving birth are normal. Just sometimes they're alert signs or symptoms of a health problem that needs treatment. Seeing your provider sooner and more often can aid y'all and your provider spot these signs and symptoms and may assistance prevent serious medical problems. Your postpartum intendance should meet your personal needs so you get the best medical intendance and support.

What is a postpartum care plan?

A postpartum care plan is a plan that you and your health care provider make together. It helps you prepare for your medical care after giving birth. Don't look until after you have your babe to brand your plan. Go far during pregnancy at ane of your prenatal care checkups.

To make your program, talk to your provider earlier you requite birth well-nigh:

  • Contact information for your health intendance provider. How practice you make it touch with your provider after your baby's born if you're worried or accept questions?
  • Your postpartum checkups. Based on the new guidelines, ACOG recommends contacting your provider inside 3 weeks of giving birth and a complete checkup within 12 weeks of giving nascency. Talk with your provider to make sure this timing is right for y'all. Find out if your health insurance plan covers all your postpartum checkups. Look at the visitor's website or call the number on your insurance carte.
  • Your reproductive life programme, including birth control. A reproductive life plan helps you think nigh if and when yous want to have more children. For most women, information technology'south all-time to wait at least eighteen months (ane½ years) between giving birth and getting meaning again. Too niggling time between pregnancies increases your risk of premature birth (before 37 weeks of pregnancy). Talk to your provider almost birth command so y'all don't get meaning once more as well soon. Ask your provider earlier you requite birth about getting an intrauterine device (also called IUD) or implant correct after you have your baby. IUDs and implants are the most effective kinds of nascency control.
  • Health conditions or pregnancy complications that need treatment after you accept your infant. Your provider tin can help yous manage these atmospheric condition. Yous may need extra postpartum checkups to make sure you're healthy. Your provider may desire to refer yous to other providers who specialize in treating certain conditions.
  • Feeding your baby. Are you planning to breastfeed your baby or feed your baby formula? If you're planning to breastfeed and you're going dorsum to work or school after your baby's born, what's your program for feeding? Your provider can help y'all find a lactation consultant to aid with breastfeeding. A lactation consultant is a person trained to help women breastfeed.
  • Common physical and emotional changes after pregnancy. What can you expect later giving nativity? What's normal and how practise you know when something'due south more serious? What are signs and symptoms of serious wellness conditions to await for after giving nascency?
  • Postpartum depression (also called PPD) and other mental wellness conditions after pregnancy. Postpartum low is a kind of depression that some women go after having a babe. It's strong feelings of sadness, anxiety (worry) and tiredness that terminal for a long fourth dimension after giving birth. PPD is a medical condition that needs treatment to get better. Talk to your provider about looking out for signs and symptoms of PPD.

What happens at a postpartum checkup?

At your postpartum checkup, your provider makes certain you lot're recovering well after giving birth and adjusting to life as a mom. Hither's what to expect:

Physical exam

  • Your provider checks your blood pressure, weight, breasts and belly. If you had a cesarean nascence (besides chosen c-section), your provider may want to come across you about 2 weeks after you give nativity so she can cheque on your c-section incision (cut). A c-department is surgery in which your infant is built-in through a cutting that your dr. makes in your abdomen and uterus. Most c-section incisions heal without any problems, but they can get infected.
  • You get a pelvic examination. Your provider checks your vagina (nascency culvert), uterus (womb) and neck. The cervix is the opening to the uterus that sits at the height of the vagina. If you had an episiotomy or a tear during birth, your provider checks to see that it's healed. An episiotomy is a cutting made at the opening of the vagina to assist let the baby out. Your provider tin tell you when it's rubber to accept sex again.
  • Your provider checks on whatsoever health conditions, like diabetes and high blood pressure, you had during pregnancy. For case, if you had gestational diabetes, your provider may give y'all a blood glucose test to check your blood saccharide. Gestational diabetes is a kind of diabetes that some women get during pregnancy. If you're breastfeeding, ask your provider to brand sure whatever medicine you take is prophylactic for your infant. You may need to stop taking a medicine or switch to ane that'south safer during breastfeeding. Don't stop taking whatsoever medicine without talking to your provider get-go.
  • Your provider makes sure your vaccinations are up to date, including vaccinations for flu and pertussis. Past getting vaccinated, yous tin help keep from getting ill and passing an disease to your baby.

Nascency control. If you didn't talk nigh birth command with your provider before you had your baby, talk about it at your postpartum visit. Talk to your provider well-nigh birth control options and how they fit with your plans about having more children. Inquire virtually using an IUD or implant to help go on y'all from getting meaning once more too soon.

Issues you had during pregnancy, labor and birth that may impact your wellness after pregnancy. This is the time to talk almost how you may exist able to prevent problems in future pregnancies, fifty-fifty if you're not thinking about having some other baby at present. For instance, if yous had a premature birth, you're at increased run a risk of having a premature birth in another pregnancy. Talk to your provider about what you tin practice to reduce run a risk of premature birth and other complications in your next pregnancy. Even if you lot don't programme to have more children, ask your provider if whatever issues you lot had during pregnancy may affect your health in the future. For instance, if you had a premature birth, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension (high blood pressure) or a condition called preeclampsia, you lot may be at increased risk of cardiovascular affliction (also called heart disease) after in life. Heart disease affects the heart and blood vessels and tin lead to serious problems, like heart attack or stroke. It'due south also a leading cause of pregnancy-related death.

Feelings about being a new mom. Tell your provider well-nigh how things are going. It's OK to tell her how you feel. It'south normal to feel tired and stressed in the weeks after nascence. Yous may have questions nearly breastfeeding and caring for your baby. Tell your provider if you lot take feelings of sadness or worry that last for a long time. If you lot have postpartum depression, it tin make information technology difficult for you lot to accept care of yourself and your babe. Information technology'due south a medical condition that needs handling to get better.

What is a postpartum care team?

You may demand postpartum care from providers other than your prenatal care provider. For example, if you have chronic health conditions, yous may need to run into other providers after pregnancy to treat those conditions. These providers are function of your postpartum intendance team. A postpartum intendance team is a group health care providers and other postpartum intendance experts who help you get medical intendance and support after y'all give birth.

A chronic wellness condition is one that lasts for a long fourth dimension or that happens once more and again over a long period of time. Chronic wellness conditions include:

  • High blood pressure level. Blood pressure is the force of blood that pushes against the walls of your arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry claret abroad from your centre to other parts of the body. If the pressure in your arteries becomes as well high, you lot accept high blood force per unit area (also called hypertension). High claret force per unit area can put extra stress on your middle and kidneys. This can lead to heart, illness, kidney disease and stroke.
  • Obesity. If you lot're obese, you have an excess corporeality of torso fat and your body mass index (also called BMI) is 30.0 or higher earlier pregnancy. BMI is a measure of trunk fat based on your height and weight. To notice out your BMI, go to www.cdc.gov/bmi.
  • Preexisting diabetes. This is a medical condition in which your body has also much sugar (chosen glucose) in your blood. Preexisting diabetes (chosen type 1 or type 2 diabetes) means yous had diabetes before you got meaning. Diabetes can damage organs in your body, including blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys.
  • Thyroid conditions. The thyroid is a gland in your cervix that makes hormones that help your body shop and use free energy from food. If it makes too piddling or too much of these hormones, you tin have wellness bug.
  • Kidney disease. Your kidneys filter your blood, removing waste and extra h2o. They also keep your body's chemicals balanced, help control your claret pressure level and brand hormones. If yous have chronic kidney disease (also chosen CKD), your kidneys are damaged and can't filter claret similar they should. This tin can cause waste to build upwardly in your body. Untreated kidney disease can lead to kidney failure.
  • Mood disorders. A mood disorder is a mental health status that affects your emotions. Depression (also called major depression or clinical depression) is an example of a mood disorder. Depression causes feelings of sadness and a loss of interest in things you similar to practise. Information technology can affect how you feel, think and deed and can interfere with your daily life. It's a medical condition that needs treatment to get ameliorate.

Members of your postpartum care team tin include:

Your prenatal intendance provider. This is the provider who takes care of you lot during pregnancy, labor and nascence.

Health care providers who treat women with pregnancy complications or chronic health conditions. For instance, yous may need to come across a maternal-fetal medicine specialist (also called an MFM). MFMs are doctors with special education and grooming to take care of women who have high-adventure pregnancies. Or if you have depression, you lot may need to meet a mental wellness professional. A mental health professional is a provider who helps people cope with emotional or mental health problems. Mental health providers include social workers, therapists, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners.

Your infant's health care provider. Your babe'south health care provider has medical training to have care of babies and children. Your baby's provider may be:

  • A pediatrician. This is a doc who has training to accept care of babies and children.
  • A family do doctor (too called a family physician). This is a doctor who takes intendance of every member of the family unit. A family practice md tin can be your health care provider before, during and afterwards pregnancy, and your infant's provider, too.
  • A neonatologist. This is a doctor who takes intendance of sick newborns, including premature babies (babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) and babies with birth defects.
  • Pediatric nurse practitioner (also chosen PNP). This is a registered nurse who has advanced preparation to take care of babies and children.
  • Family unit nurse practitioner (also called FNP). This is a registered nurse with advanced training to take care of every member of your family unit.

Breastfeeding help. Yous and your baby may need time and exercise to get comfortable breastfeeding. Don't be afraid to ask for aid! Yous can get breastfeeding help from:

  • A lactation consultant. You can find a lactation consultant through your wellness care provider or your hospital. Or contact the International Lactation Consultants Association.
  • A breastfeeding peer counselor. This is a woman who breastfed her own children and wants to help and support mothers who breastfeed. She has training to assist women breastfeed but not every bit much as a lactation consultant. You can notice a peer counselor through your local WIC nutrition program. Or visit womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding or telephone call the National Breastfeeding Helpline at (800) 994-9662.
  • A breastfeeding support group. This is a group of women who assistance and back up each other with breastfeeding. Ask your provider to help you lot detect a grouping near y'all. Or go to La Leche League.

Case manager or care coordinator. This is a nurse, social worker or other trained professional who works with members of your postpartum care squad to make sure you and your baby get the care, resource and services you need.

Habitation visitor. This is a nurse, social worker or other trained professional who makes regular visits to your dwelling house to help yous and your babe. Dwelling house visitors can help you acquire how to intendance for your baby and sympathise your baby's developmental milestones. These are skills or activities that most children tin can do at a certain age. Milestones include sitting, walking, talking, having social skills and having thinking skills. A dwelling visitor likewise can help connect y'all to customs resources and services. The Nurse-Family Partnership and Healthy Start are examples of community health programs that offer free home-visiting services.

Family and friends. Your family and friends can help you care for your baby or older children. Tell them if you need help with meals, chores around the house or a ride to your postpartum checkups. Family and friends tin can continue an eye out for warning signs of health problems you may have later on birth, including signs and symptoms of postpartum depression or other mental health conditions.

Last reviewed: July, 2018