Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jul 1;33(3):159-171.
doi: 10.1891/JPE-2023-0023.

Clinicians Speak: We Need to Redesign Postpartum Care

Abby E Halm, Paige Hornsby, Shreya Shetty, Cristalle Madray, Ann Kellams

Clinicians Speak: We Need to Redesign Postpartum Care

Abby E Halm et al. J Perinat Educ. .

Abstract

Research indicates gaps in postpartum care that negatively impact maternal and infant health. Prior research exploring clinicians' perspectives on these gaps is limited to those of maternal providers. We explored the views and experiences of maternal and infant health-care providers on the care of mothers and infants in the postpartum period. Qualitative analysis revealed three themes: Gaps in Infant Care Education and Preparation for Parenting, Gaps in Maternal Pregnancy and Postpartum Care and Expectations and Knowledge, and Ideas for Integrating Care, Education, and Support in the postpartum period. Results suggest a need for care models that offer improved prenatal education and expectation setting, methods to help mothers prepare their social support networks, and integrated and convenient access to postpartum care.

Keywords: newborns; postpartum; postpartum depression; pregnancy; qualitative methods.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

For efforts to be inclusive of all pregnant patients, we have not used the word “women” when referring to our own research. We have included the word “women” when referring to prior research that uses this term. While we recognize that not all patients who have delivered a baby use the term “mother,” we have included both mother and maternal in lieu of parents for brevity sake.

References

    1. ACOG committee opinion no. 731: group prenatal care. (2018). Obstetrics and Gynecology, 131(3), e104–e108. 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002529 - DOI - PubMed
    1. ACOG committee opinion no. 736: optimizing postpartum care. (2018). Obstetrics and Gynecology, 131(5), e140–e150. 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002633 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Carlin, R. F., Hauck, F. R., & Moon, R. Y. (2023). Increasing disparities in sudden unexpected infant deaths reflect societal failures. Pediatrics, 151(4), e2022060798. 10.1542/peds.2022-060798 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Creanga, A. A., Syverson, C., Seed, K., & Callaghan, W. M. (2017). Pregnancy-related mortality in the United States, 2011–2013. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 130(2), 366–373. 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002114 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Declercq, E. R., Sakala, C., Corry, M. P., Applebaum, S., & Herrlich, A. (2014). Major survey findings of listening to mothersSM III: New mothers speak out. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 23(1), 17–24. 10.1891/1058-1243.23.1.17 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources