Blog post

Trust your instincts: the postpartum period

It’s a story we encounter all too often...

Authors
Authors
Authors
Bonnie Zell
https://www.delfina.com/resource/trust-your-instincts-the-postpartum-period

It’s a story we encounter all too often: a patient has a successful delivery, giving birth to a healthy baby. Maybe they’re experiencing some pain, or something feels off. But they have been overwhelmed by their new responsibilities as a mother and haven’t been able to come in for a postpartum appointment. Other times they did see a provider, but their symptoms were dismissed as normal—a dismissal often confounded by provider bias on race, income, or weight. And then mere weeks after giving birth, believing that the worst is over, the unthinkable happens: the patient collapses. They are rushed to the hospital, but it’s too late. Due to complications of high blood pressure, stroke, or heart attack, the patient has died because of their pregnancy—after their baby has been delivered. 

When we hear about pregnancy related deaths, most people don’t know that 53% of these deaths happen 7 days to a whole year after the baby has been born–with 30% occurring after 6 weeks. Mental health conditions are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, including death by suicide, and overdose related to substance use disorders. Postpartum depression is the most common pregnancy complication, occurring in roughly 1 in 7 pregnancies. This is why postpartum care, and continuous, frequent interaction with your care team is so crucial. 

Even those with exceptional access to care can experience serious postpartum complications: Serena Williams, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, was put in a life-threatening situation after her delivery by providers who wrote off her pain due to racial bias. Williams pushed through the bias and fortunately got through to her providers to receive the care she needed. For other patients, especially other Black women, this story is disturbingly familiar. Documentaries like Aftershock are beginning to raise awareness of the disparities in care for Black women, but our patients are still dying at disproportionately high rates.

Maternal mortality committees advise that wider access to insurance coverage will improve outcomes, particularly when coupled with tighter integration of care between social services and the medical system. Bills like the recently passed HB 12 in Texas are the first step to removing barriers that could be the difference between life and death for some of the most vulnerable patients.

Once patients deliver, it can feel like all the focus moves to the baby. “I marked my calendar for all our pediatrician visits, but my postpartum visit felt like an inconvenience and a formality,” says Priyanka Vaidya, our Chief Product Officer. The same care gaps that we’re trying to fix in prenatal care exist postpartum. Especially when it comes to mental health issues, new parents need consistent support before and after the 6 week appointment.

Though many people experience shame around mental health issues, know that you are not alone. Some sadness after delivering is normal, often called the “baby blues.” Your hormones have been in flux, and adjusting to life as a new parent can be exhausting and anxiety-provoking. However, if it’s been more than two weeks and you still feel deeply sad, are unable to get out of bed or attend to your normal responsibilities, or have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, please get in touch with a medical professional. Postpartum depression is common, and it is serious. You deserve help. 

Just as it can be difficult to tell whether the depression you’re feeling is a cause for concern or the baby blues, physical symptoms of serious complications like hypertension or heart disease can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from regular postpartum discomfort.  If you’re experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, seizures, heavy bleeding that soaks through more than one pad an hour or a blood clot the size of an egg or bigger, call your healthcare provider. This list is not comprehensive: talk with your provider before you give birth about what feelings are normal and which signal that you should seek help. 

At Delfina, we are expanding our offering to include postpartum care. This includes consistent support from the care team that patients have been working with during their pregnancies, including their Delfina Guide—a doula with whom the patient has been building a deeply supportive relationship. Delfina Guides help patients stay on track with their postpartum visits, encouraging patients to keep their appointments. Delfina also has expert mental health clinicians, from whom our patients can receive counseling care via telehealth. These clinicians are trained on how to support patients through perinatal mental health concerns like postpartum depression. We also offer a series of group classes before and after birth that include advice on the postpartum period, so that patients can be prepared. Bills like HB 12 that extend postpartum Medicaid eligibility mean that our patients can keep benefitting from the Delfina Care platform after delivery.


If you want your patients to have access to comprehensive, continuous care during and after pregnancy, join us.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Blog post

Trust your instincts: the postpartum period

It’s a story we encounter all too often...

Authors
Authors
Authors
Bonnie Zell
https://www.delfina.com/resource/trust-your-instincts-the-postpartum-period

It’s a story we encounter all too often: a patient has a successful delivery, giving birth to a healthy baby. Maybe they’re experiencing some pain, or something feels off. But they have been overwhelmed by their new responsibilities as a mother and haven’t been able to come in for a postpartum appointment. Other times they did see a provider, but their symptoms were dismissed as normal—a dismissal often confounded by provider bias on race, income, or weight. And then mere weeks after giving birth, believing that the worst is over, the unthinkable happens: the patient collapses. They are rushed to the hospital, but it’s too late. Due to complications of high blood pressure, stroke, or heart attack, the patient has died because of their pregnancy—after their baby has been delivered. 

When we hear about pregnancy related deaths, most people don’t know that 53% of these deaths happen 7 days to a whole year after the baby has been born–with 30% occurring after 6 weeks. Mental health conditions are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, including death by suicide, and overdose related to substance use disorders. Postpartum depression is the most common pregnancy complication, occurring in roughly 1 in 7 pregnancies. This is why postpartum care, and continuous, frequent interaction with your care team is so crucial. 

Even those with exceptional access to care can experience serious postpartum complications: Serena Williams, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, was put in a life-threatening situation after her delivery by providers who wrote off her pain due to racial bias. Williams pushed through the bias and fortunately got through to her providers to receive the care she needed. For other patients, especially other Black women, this story is disturbingly familiar. Documentaries like Aftershock are beginning to raise awareness of the disparities in care for Black women, but our patients are still dying at disproportionately high rates.

Maternal mortality committees advise that wider access to insurance coverage will improve outcomes, particularly when coupled with tighter integration of care between social services and the medical system. Bills like the recently passed HB 12 in Texas are the first step to removing barriers that could be the difference between life and death for some of the most vulnerable patients.

Once patients deliver, it can feel like all the focus moves to the baby. “I marked my calendar for all our pediatrician visits, but my postpartum visit felt like an inconvenience and a formality,” says Priyanka Vaidya, our Chief Product Officer. The same care gaps that we’re trying to fix in prenatal care exist postpartum. Especially when it comes to mental health issues, new parents need consistent support before and after the 6 week appointment.

Though many people experience shame around mental health issues, know that you are not alone. Some sadness after delivering is normal, often called the “baby blues.” Your hormones have been in flux, and adjusting to life as a new parent can be exhausting and anxiety-provoking. However, if it’s been more than two weeks and you still feel deeply sad, are unable to get out of bed or attend to your normal responsibilities, or have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, please get in touch with a medical professional. Postpartum depression is common, and it is serious. You deserve help. 

Just as it can be difficult to tell whether the depression you’re feeling is a cause for concern or the baby blues, physical symptoms of serious complications like hypertension or heart disease can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from regular postpartum discomfort.  If you’re experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, seizures, heavy bleeding that soaks through more than one pad an hour or a blood clot the size of an egg or bigger, call your healthcare provider. This list is not comprehensive: talk with your provider before you give birth about what feelings are normal and which signal that you should seek help. 

At Delfina, we are expanding our offering to include postpartum care. This includes consistent support from the care team that patients have been working with during their pregnancies, including their Delfina Guide—a doula with whom the patient has been building a deeply supportive relationship. Delfina Guides help patients stay on track with their postpartum visits, encouraging patients to keep their appointments. Delfina also has expert mental health clinicians, from whom our patients can receive counseling care via telehealth. These clinicians are trained on how to support patients through perinatal mental health concerns like postpartum depression. We also offer a series of group classes before and after birth that include advice on the postpartum period, so that patients can be prepared. Bills like HB 12 that extend postpartum Medicaid eligibility mean that our patients can keep benefitting from the Delfina Care platform after delivery.


If you want your patients to have access to comprehensive, continuous care during and after pregnancy, join us.

Blog post

Trust your instincts: the postpartum period

It’s a story we encounter all too often...

Authors
Authors
Authors
Bonnie Zell
https://www.delfina.com/resource/trust-your-instincts-the-postpartum-period

It’s a story we encounter all too often: a patient has a successful delivery, giving birth to a healthy baby. Maybe they’re experiencing some pain, or something feels off. But they have been overwhelmed by their new responsibilities as a mother and haven’t been able to come in for a postpartum appointment. Other times they did see a provider, but their symptoms were dismissed as normal—a dismissal often confounded by provider bias on race, income, or weight. And then mere weeks after giving birth, believing that the worst is over, the unthinkable happens: the patient collapses. They are rushed to the hospital, but it’s too late. Due to complications of high blood pressure, stroke, or heart attack, the patient has died because of their pregnancy—after their baby has been delivered. 

When we hear about pregnancy related deaths, most people don’t know that 53% of these deaths happen 7 days to a whole year after the baby has been born–with 30% occurring after 6 weeks. Mental health conditions are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, including death by suicide, and overdose related to substance use disorders. Postpartum depression is the most common pregnancy complication, occurring in roughly 1 in 7 pregnancies. This is why postpartum care, and continuous, frequent interaction with your care team is so crucial. 

Even those with exceptional access to care can experience serious postpartum complications: Serena Williams, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, was put in a life-threatening situation after her delivery by providers who wrote off her pain due to racial bias. Williams pushed through the bias and fortunately got through to her providers to receive the care she needed. For other patients, especially other Black women, this story is disturbingly familiar. Documentaries like Aftershock are beginning to raise awareness of the disparities in care for Black women, but our patients are still dying at disproportionately high rates.

Maternal mortality committees advise that wider access to insurance coverage will improve outcomes, particularly when coupled with tighter integration of care between social services and the medical system. Bills like the recently passed HB 12 in Texas are the first step to removing barriers that could be the difference between life and death for some of the most vulnerable patients.

Once patients deliver, it can feel like all the focus moves to the baby. “I marked my calendar for all our pediatrician visits, but my postpartum visit felt like an inconvenience and a formality,” says Priyanka Vaidya, our Chief Product Officer. The same care gaps that we’re trying to fix in prenatal care exist postpartum. Especially when it comes to mental health issues, new parents need consistent support before and after the 6 week appointment.

Though many people experience shame around mental health issues, know that you are not alone. Some sadness after delivering is normal, often called the “baby blues.” Your hormones have been in flux, and adjusting to life as a new parent can be exhausting and anxiety-provoking. However, if it’s been more than two weeks and you still feel deeply sad, are unable to get out of bed or attend to your normal responsibilities, or have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, please get in touch with a medical professional. Postpartum depression is common, and it is serious. You deserve help. 

Just as it can be difficult to tell whether the depression you’re feeling is a cause for concern or the baby blues, physical symptoms of serious complications like hypertension or heart disease can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from regular postpartum discomfort.  If you’re experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, seizures, heavy bleeding that soaks through more than one pad an hour or a blood clot the size of an egg or bigger, call your healthcare provider. This list is not comprehensive: talk with your provider before you give birth about what feelings are normal and which signal that you should seek help. 

At Delfina, we are expanding our offering to include postpartum care. This includes consistent support from the care team that patients have been working with during their pregnancies, including their Delfina Guide—a doula with whom the patient has been building a deeply supportive relationship. Delfina Guides help patients stay on track with their postpartum visits, encouraging patients to keep their appointments. Delfina also has expert mental health clinicians, from whom our patients can receive counseling care via telehealth. These clinicians are trained on how to support patients through perinatal mental health concerns like postpartum depression. We also offer a series of group classes before and after birth that include advice on the postpartum period, so that patients can be prepared. Bills like HB 12 that extend postpartum Medicaid eligibility mean that our patients can keep benefitting from the Delfina Care platform after delivery.


If you want your patients to have access to comprehensive, continuous care during and after pregnancy, join us.

Blog post

Trust your instincts: the postpartum period

It’s a story we encounter all too often...

Authors
Authors
Authors
Bonnie Zell
https://www.delfina.com/resource/trust-your-instincts-the-postpartum-period

It’s a story we encounter all too often: a patient has a successful delivery, giving birth to a healthy baby. Maybe they’re experiencing some pain, or something feels off. But they have been overwhelmed by their new responsibilities as a mother and haven’t been able to come in for a postpartum appointment. Other times they did see a provider, but their symptoms were dismissed as normal—a dismissal often confounded by provider bias on race, income, or weight. And then mere weeks after giving birth, believing that the worst is over, the unthinkable happens: the patient collapses. They are rushed to the hospital, but it’s too late. Due to complications of high blood pressure, stroke, or heart attack, the patient has died because of their pregnancy—after their baby has been delivered. 

When we hear about pregnancy related deaths, most people don’t know that 53% of these deaths happen 7 days to a whole year after the baby has been born–with 30% occurring after 6 weeks. Mental health conditions are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, including death by suicide, and overdose related to substance use disorders. Postpartum depression is the most common pregnancy complication, occurring in roughly 1 in 7 pregnancies. This is why postpartum care, and continuous, frequent interaction with your care team is so crucial. 

Even those with exceptional access to care can experience serious postpartum complications: Serena Williams, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, was put in a life-threatening situation after her delivery by providers who wrote off her pain due to racial bias. Williams pushed through the bias and fortunately got through to her providers to receive the care she needed. For other patients, especially other Black women, this story is disturbingly familiar. Documentaries like Aftershock are beginning to raise awareness of the disparities in care for Black women, but our patients are still dying at disproportionately high rates.

Maternal mortality committees advise that wider access to insurance coverage will improve outcomes, particularly when coupled with tighter integration of care between social services and the medical system. Bills like the recently passed HB 12 in Texas are the first step to removing barriers that could be the difference between life and death for some of the most vulnerable patients.

Once patients deliver, it can feel like all the focus moves to the baby. “I marked my calendar for all our pediatrician visits, but my postpartum visit felt like an inconvenience and a formality,” says Priyanka Vaidya, our Chief Product Officer. The same care gaps that we’re trying to fix in prenatal care exist postpartum. Especially when it comes to mental health issues, new parents need consistent support before and after the 6 week appointment.

Though many people experience shame around mental health issues, know that you are not alone. Some sadness after delivering is normal, often called the “baby blues.” Your hormones have been in flux, and adjusting to life as a new parent can be exhausting and anxiety-provoking. However, if it’s been more than two weeks and you still feel deeply sad, are unable to get out of bed or attend to your normal responsibilities, or have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, please get in touch with a medical professional. Postpartum depression is common, and it is serious. You deserve help. 

Just as it can be difficult to tell whether the depression you’re feeling is a cause for concern or the baby blues, physical symptoms of serious complications like hypertension or heart disease can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from regular postpartum discomfort.  If you’re experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, seizures, heavy bleeding that soaks through more than one pad an hour or a blood clot the size of an egg or bigger, call your healthcare provider. This list is not comprehensive: talk with your provider before you give birth about what feelings are normal and which signal that you should seek help. 

At Delfina, we are expanding our offering to include postpartum care. This includes consistent support from the care team that patients have been working with during their pregnancies, including their Delfina Guide—a doula with whom the patient has been building a deeply supportive relationship. Delfina Guides help patients stay on track with their postpartum visits, encouraging patients to keep their appointments. Delfina also has expert mental health clinicians, from whom our patients can receive counseling care via telehealth. These clinicians are trained on how to support patients through perinatal mental health concerns like postpartum depression. We also offer a series of group classes before and after birth that include advice on the postpartum period, so that patients can be prepared. Bills like HB 12 that extend postpartum Medicaid eligibility mean that our patients can keep benefitting from the Delfina Care platform after delivery.


If you want your patients to have access to comprehensive, continuous care during and after pregnancy, join us.

Blog post

Trust your instincts: the postpartum period

It’s a story we encounter all too often...

https://www.delfina.com/resource/trust-your-instincts-the-postpartum-period

It’s a story we encounter all too often: a patient has a successful delivery, giving birth to a healthy baby. Maybe they’re experiencing some pain, or something feels off. But they have been overwhelmed by their new responsibilities as a mother and haven’t been able to come in for a postpartum appointment. Other times they did see a provider, but their symptoms were dismissed as normal—a dismissal often confounded by provider bias on race, income, or weight. And then mere weeks after giving birth, believing that the worst is over, the unthinkable happens: the patient collapses. They are rushed to the hospital, but it’s too late. Due to complications of high blood pressure, stroke, or heart attack, the patient has died because of their pregnancy—after their baby has been delivered. 

When we hear about pregnancy related deaths, most people don’t know that 53% of these deaths happen 7 days to a whole year after the baby has been born–with 30% occurring after 6 weeks. Mental health conditions are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, including death by suicide, and overdose related to substance use disorders. Postpartum depression is the most common pregnancy complication, occurring in roughly 1 in 7 pregnancies. This is why postpartum care, and continuous, frequent interaction with your care team is so crucial. 

Even those with exceptional access to care can experience serious postpartum complications: Serena Williams, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, was put in a life-threatening situation after her delivery by providers who wrote off her pain due to racial bias. Williams pushed through the bias and fortunately got through to her providers to receive the care she needed. For other patients, especially other Black women, this story is disturbingly familiar. Documentaries like Aftershock are beginning to raise awareness of the disparities in care for Black women, but our patients are still dying at disproportionately high rates.

Maternal mortality committees advise that wider access to insurance coverage will improve outcomes, particularly when coupled with tighter integration of care between social services and the medical system. Bills like the recently passed HB 12 in Texas are the first step to removing barriers that could be the difference between life and death for some of the most vulnerable patients.

Once patients deliver, it can feel like all the focus moves to the baby. “I marked my calendar for all our pediatrician visits, but my postpartum visit felt like an inconvenience and a formality,” says Priyanka Vaidya, our Chief Product Officer. The same care gaps that we’re trying to fix in prenatal care exist postpartum. Especially when it comes to mental health issues, new parents need consistent support before and after the 6 week appointment.

Though many people experience shame around mental health issues, know that you are not alone. Some sadness after delivering is normal, often called the “baby blues.” Your hormones have been in flux, and adjusting to life as a new parent can be exhausting and anxiety-provoking. However, if it’s been more than two weeks and you still feel deeply sad, are unable to get out of bed or attend to your normal responsibilities, or have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, please get in touch with a medical professional. Postpartum depression is common, and it is serious. You deserve help. 

Just as it can be difficult to tell whether the depression you’re feeling is a cause for concern or the baby blues, physical symptoms of serious complications like hypertension or heart disease can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from regular postpartum discomfort.  If you’re experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, seizures, heavy bleeding that soaks through more than one pad an hour or a blood clot the size of an egg or bigger, call your healthcare provider. This list is not comprehensive: talk with your provider before you give birth about what feelings are normal and which signal that you should seek help. 

At Delfina, we are expanding our offering to include postpartum care. This includes consistent support from the care team that patients have been working with during their pregnancies, including their Delfina Guide—a doula with whom the patient has been building a deeply supportive relationship. Delfina Guides help patients stay on track with their postpartum visits, encouraging patients to keep their appointments. Delfina also has expert mental health clinicians, from whom our patients can receive counseling care via telehealth. These clinicians are trained on how to support patients through perinatal mental health concerns like postpartum depression. We also offer a series of group classes before and after birth that include advice on the postpartum period, so that patients can be prepared. Bills like HB 12 that extend postpartum Medicaid eligibility mean that our patients can keep benefitting from the Delfina Care platform after delivery.


If you want your patients to have access to comprehensive, continuous care during and after pregnancy, join us.

Blog post

Trust your instincts: the postpartum period

It’s a story we encounter all too often...

Guests
No items found.
https://www.delfina.com/resource/trust-your-instincts-the-postpartum-period