8 Questions to ask your Care Provider about Postpartum to Prevent Being Dropped at the Curb
*Content Note* We recognize that The Nourished Postpartum Challenge may stir up past trauma, or feel confronting to folks currently pregnant or in the early postpartum months. What may feel clarifying and cathartic to one person may be another person’s deepest trigger. Please care for yourself this week, share what feels safe to you, and if you realize you need deeper mental health support, we have created a Resources page which you can find here.
OBGYN or Midwife
What postpartum healing supplies will your practice/hospital provide me with? Will you explain how to use them?
What education will you provide to me about postpartum healing?
What can you tell me about postpartum healing comforts I can practice at home?
How many appointments will I have with you after I have the baby? Will you or your office check on me in between visits?
Do you have bias around perinatal mental health? Do you call CPS? What steps do you take if a patient is struggling with a PPMAD?
What will we cover in my 6 week postpartum check up, other than my capability for penetrative sex and exercise?
Tell me about your referral network of perinatal professionals that can support my postpartum journey.
In what ways will you support me in processing my birth experience?
The 2018 ACOG report “Optimizing Postpartum Care” expressly states that prenatal postpartum planning increases positive outcomes for parents and infants.
Practitioners with proximity to pregnant people are in a powerful position to plant seeds of care for a nourished postpartum. We need challenge care providers, of all kinds, who show up for birth and little else, when their presence prenatally could make an impact long after their last visit.
Wrap around care saves lives.
Collaborative care models are the future.
Reproductive care that doesn’t include postpartum is a bait and switch that leaves many people and families dropped at the curb.
These questions can be used by expectant families in prenatal visits, or as interview questions in selecting a care team.