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Home › Articles › Mom's Health › Mom's Postpartum Health

Mom's Postpartum Health

Why New Moms Need Doctor Visits Too

By Renee Roberson

Pages:  1  2  3  

"In my practice, and in many other practices, birth control options are often discussed in the third trimester of pregnancy," Dr. Nardone says. "This gives the patient adequate time to review and consider all her options as there are many methods available today. Many women opt to start birth control in the hospital after delivery, but some forms of birth control may diminish breast milk production or increase the chance of clot formation and may be discouraged at that point."

Dr. Nardone adds that a woman who is considering a tubal ligation will be counseled before the delivery and consent for the surgery well in advance.

Mary Walkden, a mom living in Armstrong, B.C., had an emergency C-section with her first child and went to see her doctor two weeks after the delivery so he could check on her stitches. "I went back on week seven or eight after the delivery and discovered I was pregnant again," Walkden says.

Because of that, she says she discussed birth control options with her doctor during her second pregnancy, and decided on a tubal ligation during the subsequent C-section birth.

It can be easy for a mom to lose herself in the first few months of caring for a new baby, but the postpartum visit is an important one to remember. There is a variety of things that need to be discussed with the doctor, as well as making sure everything is healing properly. Welch also tells her patients not to hesitate in calling their doctor if they have any concerns before the scheduled postpartum visit, such as unusually heavy bleeding or feelings of depression. From that point on, annual gynecological exams and mammograms, depending on the age of the patient, will resume on a normal schedule.

Well Baby Visits

Your months of visits with an OB/GYN or certified nurse midwife may have ended, but your baby's well visits have just begun. Here's a look at the schedule you'll most likely follow during your newborn's first year of life, where your pediatrician will check on your baby's growth and development and administer the proper immunizations:

1 week
1 month
2 months
4 months
6 months
9 months
12 months

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics


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