Newborn and Postpartum Care
Your high-risk pregnancy care continues in the moments, days and weeks after your child is born. Our team of specially trained obstetricians and neonatal specialists provide complete newborn and postpartum care, so you can be close to home as you recover from delivery.
During Your Hospital Stay
After you give birth, we will continue to monitor you and your baby closely. We offer pain management, medication management, blood pressure monitoring, counseling, and other services to support your well-being throughout your hospital stay.
You and your baby might also need closer monitoring during your stay, depending on certain risk factors. For instance, some babies will need to stay in the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) even after you are discharged from the hospital. If your child is staying in the NICU, you can use the children’s hospital KidCierge™ program to stay close-by and find resources to support you while your baby continues to grow and receive treatment.
Postpartum Care
We have dedicated teams for our moms to transition to new parenthood such as a lactation consultant, psychology evaluation, and transition to neonatal care after you leave the hospital. Your doctor will continue to monitor your health during postpartum visits at their outpatient clinic.
Typically, you’ll have a postpartum checkup within the first four-to-six weeks after giving birth. During this visit, your OB/GYN will check on your physical and emotional wellbeing. They will also talk to you about your plans for birth control since getting pregnant again too quickly can put you at a high risk for complications. Your provider can refer you to other specialists if you need additional care or social services for extra support, including support with breastfeeding with our certified lactation consultants.
Caring for a newborn can mean a big adjustment to your life, especially while you are physically healing from delivery. That’s why it’s important to check in with your doctor during this time. You might also need closer monitoring if you have risk factors such as:
- Certain pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure
- Pregnancy and delivery complications, such as preeclampsia
- Being overweight or obese
- Being 35 or older
If you experience severe bleeding, severe pain, fever or severe headaches after birth, you should contact your OB right away as these can be signs of complications.
After being discharged from the hospital, our high risk moms are followed at our high-risk OB clinic for postpartum check ups. If you have medical issues (i.e. blood pressure, diabetes, etc.) the OBs will follow you more closely.
We strongly encourage you to reach out to our team at any time in the postpartum period if you need support. In addition, you can continue to contact your perinatal nurse navigator with any questions or concerns you have.
If you are recovering from a cesarean or C-section, you’ll need additional care. You will have a follow-up appointment two weeks after you give birth and another six weeks after you give birth. During these appointments, your provider will check on your incision to ensure it is healing as well as check on your emotional and physical health.
If you have diabetes, you might need additional appointments during the postpartum period as your body recovers from pregnancy. You might have these appointments with your endocrinologist or at your OB/GYN office. We will also ensure you receive counseling and education to help you control your blood sugar postpartum.
If you experienced preeclampsia during your pregnancy, your blood pressure might remain high for a while after giving birth. You need to see your doctor within 72 hours after leaving the hospital to check your blood pressure. You might also need to do blood pressure checks at home. Your doctor may also schedule additional postpartum appointments depending on your specific needs.
Mothers who had a high-risk pregnancy or delivery may have a higher risk of postpartum depression or anxiety. That’s why we will perform a postpartum mental health screening at all your postpartum appointments and teach you about the signs of postpartum depression before you leave the hospital. We also offer postpartum support groups to help you through the transition into motherhood.
If you have any signs of postpartum depression, please call your doctor for care. Many effective treatments are safe to use while breastfeeding and can help you feel more like yourself again.
If you have any thoughts of hurting yourself or your baby, please call 911, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to the emergency room for care.