Haywood Brown, MD, discusses postpartum care

Dr. Haywood Brown, professor, obstetrics and gynecology, and associate dean, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, discusses redefining what constitutes postpartum care during the fourth trimester.

Dr. Brown

: As you know, my

presidential initiative

was on redefining postpartum care, or the fourth trimester, and I gave a clinical seminar on that yesterday to a group of individuals who really embraced the idea of earlier postpartum follow-up and follow-up up to at least 12 weeks postpartum, and then using the postpartum period as the continuum of care for well-women’s health. So it was well received. And we also introduced the concept of a checklist where the patient can really talk about the things that matter most to her during that visit. And I think that was also a key aspect of this, where promoting earlier visits as well, postpartum, because maternal morbidity and mortality, in fact, occurs within the first 6 weeks more often. And so by seeing the woman back within 3 weeks and getting away from this concept of the 6-week postpartum visit, it’s powerful. And we know that women also live in different parts of the country where access to care - rural care - prohibits a lot of things. And money prohibits a lot of things. So, the importance of vulnerable women having the ability to come in for that visit is very powerful.

More on postpartum care from Dr. Brown: Redefining postpartum care