A pregnant woman in America receives constant medical attention. Her health is closely monitored with regular check-ups, blood tests, and weight tracking. She frequently visits a doctor, increasing as her due date approaches. However, once she gives birth, the level of care drops significantly.
Dr. Sejal Hathi, a physician and director of the Oregon Health Authority, describes her personal experience following her daughter’s birth. Even a year after delivery, she faces challenges due to bodily changes and injuries sustained during childbirth. Despite having excellent health insurance and access to resources, she struggled to find coordinated postpartum care.
New mothers often find postpartum recovery difficult. Obstetric specialists typically discharge patients six weeks after delivery. Many clinics are overwhelmed and can’t accommodate new postpartum patients. Primary care providers often consider postpartum recovery outside their expertise, leaving mothers to manage their care alone.
Dr. Hathi had to piece together her own care plan. She researched treatment options, contacted pelvic floor therapists, and arranged her medical referrals. This situation exemplifies the inadequacies in the postpartum care system.
The existing care model treats postpartum recovery as a brief phase, typically concluding with a postnatal check-up within six weeks. The reimbursement structure supports this approach, as it combines prenatal care, delivery, and initial postpartum care into a single payment bundle, despite recovery lasting much longer.
Starting next year, the American Medical Association plans to change this by allowing providers to bill separately for different aspects of care. However, this shift might not address the core issue. Beyond the initial weeks, no single healthcare provider takes responsibility for a mother’s ongoing recovery. While infants receive frequent pediatric care within their first year, a mother’s visits depend on whether complications arise.