Postpartum Health Centers?

Amanda

Ok, I'm going to get personal here. I am interested in others' feedback and opinions on this:

Have any of you mothers ever wished there was more specialized care for your postpartum health concerns? This could be anything from serious health complications, postpartum depression, lactation help, weight loss, etc.? Any fathers who wished this had been available to the mother of your children at that critical point in her life? Or just people who see this as a need in our society? I feel like there should be postpartum health centers dedicated to only the needs of postpartum mothers for about two years after giving birth. Perhaps they exist (?) but they are definitely not common. These should be staffed with specialists in postpartum health. I think we should care about our mothers before AND after childbirth.

If you are interested in what got me thinking about this, this was my personal experience:

In April 2017, I gave birth to my second son. During my pregnancy, I began developing pregnancy induced hypertension, like I did during my pregnancy with my first son. This issue was handled with extreme care by my OB's office. They always responded quickly to calls, referred me to specialists, and I was always welcome into L and D when my BP would get too high.

After being discharged post delivery, everything changed. A few days later, my blood pressure spiked dangerously high and my doctor urged me to go to the ER. I thought this meant I could go back to L and D where all the necessary resources are for new babies and mothers. It's hard to explain all the special accommodations you need right after you give birth. My son is exclusively breastfed so obviously he had to come with. My husband wanted to be there for me and help with the baby which meant my six year old also had to come. This is at 11 pm.

The experience was awful. There was no bassinet for my son, no hospital gown conducive to nursing, no help or sanitary tools for going to the bathroom (this is highly necessary right after giving birth), both of my kids we're crammed into the hospital bed with me as IVs were put in and EKG's were done and a gambit of other tests were completed. My newborn son, too young to be vaccinated or have a developed immune system is being exposed to God knows what. I just couldn't understand why we couldn't go to the part of the hospital equipped to handle this. Luckily, they stabilized my BP and I did not develop preeclampsia and was sent home that night.

What followed over the next nine months has been very hard. After six weeks of trying to treat my postpartum blood pressure issues, my OB's office said it was out of their hands. They stopped responding to my calls after hours if my blood pressure was too high and said I needed to switch to a primary care doctor. I tried different primary care doctors, all of whom didn't know why this happens to some women after birth. I was put on and off of different beta blockers and dosages leading to dangerous situations where my BP and pulse would skyrocket too high or plummet too low. I have FINALLY been able to wean off of them.

The whole experience, going from being treated like a priority while pregnant and then to a mysterious bother made me feel like my body was merely a vessel, important only when carrying a baby.

Please share your thoughts.

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