Postpartum care: Mom’s path to recovery after baby arrives

Moms-to-be spend a lot of time seeing their OB/GYN providers during their pregnancies. They come in for regular checkups, hear their baby’s heartbeat, and form great relationships with their care teams over the many months of pregnancy. But what about after the baby is born?

“Postpartum” is what we call the time after a mom delivers her baby. It usually lasts six to eight weeks after the baby is born, but it can last as long as a year.

This time after a baby’s birth is critical for both mom and her infant. It’s important to make sure that moms get the care and support they need. At Holston Medical Group, we care for our new-mom patients as much as our new-baby patients. Getting a postpartum checkup from an OB/GYN provider and having a great care team relationship can help keep moms healthy.

In the excitement that comes from a new addition to the family, it’s easy to focus on the new baby. Postpartum care gives moms some much-needed attention, too.

I like to see my new-mom patients within the first four weeks after their baby is born. How soon I see them varies:

• Low-risk patients: Moms who had a normal pregnancy and normal birth will come in about four weeks after the baby is born.
• Medium-risk patients: Moms who had a C-section or other incisions during the baby’s birth will come in about two weeks after having the baby.
• High-risk patients: Moms who have chronic illnesses like diabetes, kidney disease, or high blood pressure will need to be seen within a week or a week after the baby is born.

We discuss with our patients potential complications in the postpartum period such as:

• Heavy bleeding
• Infection
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• Blood clots
• Heart failure

Dads, non-birth partners, family members, and friends can watch for signs of health issues, too. A mom should see her provider or go to an emergency room for issues including:

• Severe headaches that don’t go away with medicine
• Ongoing fever higher than 100.4 degrees
• Pulse higher than 110 beats per minute
• Dizziness or feeling faint
• Flu-like symptoms
• Abdominal pain
• Shortness of breath or chest pain
• Redness, tenderness, or discharge at the incision site (for C-sections)

No two pregnancies or babies are the same. Whether this is a family’s first baby or not, learning and healing come with time.

It can take six months to a year for moms to start feeling “normal” again. And being a new mom is as much a mental health journey as a physical one. Depression—or “baby blues”—is very common. But HMG can help. Whole-person care is what HMG is all about.