4th Trimester Project

A Village for Mothers

Clinic Partner Materials

< For Providers

Building on resources developed by the American College of OB/GYNs and their Postpartum Care Bundle, the 4th Trimester Team, with input from moms and community providers has been working to create tools for change. Below is a list of resources for clinics and health care systems to try to improve postpartum care. Materials support patient education and postpartum planning as well as hospital discharge, the transition home, and the postpartum visit.

Clinical Postpartum Toolkit Materials

Click to view the Postpartum Visit Checklist tool – useful tool for clinics at postpartum discharge/visits (Postpartum Visit Tool in Spanish).

New mothers often have to work hard to make it to their postpartum visit. For some, this may be the last health care encounter she has for some time. It is important to make the time count. This postpartum visit check list gives women a chance to think about their top questions as well as to provide your with important information to guide the visit.

POSTPARTUM VISIT TIMING

ACOG has revised their recommendations about the timing of postpartum care. Women should be contacted much earlier than 6 weeks and should receive care when they need it. The ACOG’s revised approach emphasizes:

  • A blood pressure check within 3-10 days
  • Follow-up for high-risk women within 1-3 weeks
  • Contact with all women within the first 3 weeks

Women should be supported with ongoing care as needed, whether at 2 weeks and/or 2 months, concluding with a comprehensive postpartum visit no later than 12 weeks after birth (ACOG, 2018). Telehealth should be considered as a method to promote continuity of care and remove barriers to care access during the postpartum period.

NICU moms are twice as likely to have delivered by cesarean section and experience severe maternal morbidity. These moms are also at increased risk for perinatal mood disorders and anxiety. With high concerns for their infants, these moms often sacrifice self-care and recovery to remain at their baby’s bedside. They need special outreach on the part of their OB provider.

Consider making appointments at least 30- 45 minutes long so that women can have their needs and concerns adequately addressed. This investment in time can have major positive payoffs for families.

Listening to the people and communities we serve and proactively working to earn and deserve trust is critical. We want mothers to not just survive, but thrive.

References to Explore:

Click to view or download the New Parent Health Information Sheet. Click here for Spanish version.

Click to view or download the New Baby Health Information Sheet – Click for Spanish.

These are both helpful for clinics to distribute at discharge or during postpartum visits.

Click to view or download the Postpartum in Practice 2021 Bulletin.

The Postpartum in Practice Bulletin is based on ACOG’s Postpartum bundle and serves as a guide for health care teams.

Postpartum in Practice highlights ways in which the health care team can address some of the universal but largely neglected postpartum experiences and is designed to offer resources and supports to improve the way postpartum care and support is provided to all women. The bulletin here was designed intentionally for North Carolina practices.

Click to view or download the Postpartum Billing and Coding Guide.

Click to view or download the Postpartum Planning Tool for expecting and new parents to fill out their needs and preferences as they consider their postpartum plan and support. Click for Postpartum Plan in Spanish.

Navigating postpartum recovery and transitioning to new parenthood

During labor and delivery, mothers typically have their plans in place to address what they need to feel safe and supported during childbirth. Once the baby is born, however, the mother and family is often not prepared for the postpartum experience.

The Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care and ACOG recommend that women, with their health care providers, create a postpartum care plan. It is important to encourage expecting parents to think about their postpartum plans, including an outline for emergency contacts and information about caring for their physical, emotional, and mental recovery.

ACOG issued guidance on optimizing postpartum care, access here. Having these conversations about what to expect postpartum and supporting new parents with postpartum planning can help allieviate some stress post-delivery.

We have created a checklist and guidance for new mothers to create their own postpartum plans. Click for “Postpartum Planning” patient material.

Click to view Taking Care of You and Birth Control After Baby booklets – both available in Spanish. More Patient Education Materials can be found here.

Nurse Nikki shares a checklist for health care teams to use while speaking with new moms about sex and intimacy.

Implementing into Practice Support

Watch an overview of the postpartum toolkit materials and ideas to implement into practice.

We’ve created Postpartum Overview Files that can serve as a guide for introducing each tool, including timing and what to say to patients. you can download a one-pager for each tool you’d like to use in practice.

Tool Overview Guides

North Carolina care teams: did you know you can order these materials and have them shipped from the NC DPH Warehouse? Order yours today. If you try them in your practice, we’d LOVE your feedback about how it went! Questions? Contact SuzanneW@med.unc.edu.

The content of this website is not intended for use as diagnosis or treatment of a health problem. If you have questions or concerns, please contact your health care provider. If you need emergency care, call 911 right away.

The 4th Trimester Project™ is a trademark.