Create Your Postpartum Care Plan! Here’s Are Some Helpful First Steps

Developing a postpartum care plan is a great opportunity to connect with people or professionals in your life about your concerns, your hopes and your intentions.

This plan can be a backbone for you as you navigate the postpartum period, and help you to seek treatment and identify risk factors with ease, if necessary.

Consider this:

• The postpartum period begins directly after you give birth and can last up to 1 year after the event itself.
• A postpartum care plan is a boundary-setting strategy for new mothers that allow them to prepare for the postpartum period and identify any resources that may support their transition after birth into their new chapter of parenthood.

When to Start Planning

It is ideal to begin formulating your postpartum care plan before the birth occurs. Of course, a postpartum plan isn’t foolproof, but early identification of any condition is key — this outline is for you, your family and your support team to refer to throughout the journey. This personalized care plan would be totally developed and managed by you and your support team with the assistance of your care provider when necessary to help you review throughout the pregnancy.

There are two main areas of focus in your postpartum care plan (in addition to your maternal and infant health care, which should be conducted by obstetricians or midwives and pediatricians) to focus on:

Your Mental Health Resources

There are various kinds of mental health resources and types of therapy that can fit into your postpartum plan. Some considerations are previous medical history, prescription medications you may be taking, and whether or not you plan to breastfeed.

Hormone therapy is a type of preventative therapy used against postpartum depression. It is designed to supplement the significant hormonal drop that takes place after birth. This study on hormone therapy found a more rapid improvement in depressive symptoms within women who received estrogen supplementation. This area is still being studied, so it should be approached with a great deal of caution. Also, the study did exclude breastfeeding women, which is important to consider.

Other mental health resources that specifically aid in the transition from pregnancy to afterbirth and postpartum, as well as related conditions, are: cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, interpersonal therapy and non-directive counseling. Treatment options can also include practical lifestyle changes such as exercise and self-care time. Keep a few mental health professionals on your resource list who can make recommendations about the best fit for you if that time comes.

Your Social Support System

According to a study done by Aaron Beck about predictors of postpartum depression, American psychiatrist and developer of Cognitive Therapy, inadequate and inconsistent social support during prenatal and postnatal periods is associated with increased risk of postpartum depression. For this reason, this lack of social support is identified as a risk factor for postpartum depression that can be mitigated by increased social support that is specific to your pregnancy.

Sit down to chat with each member of your social support system as soon as possible about what you’ll need from them, what they’re able to help you with and how they’re willing to work together. In any case, when you can guarantee their presence, you could also count on them to help you recognize possible symptoms of postpartum depression.