How a routine practice review led to a closer look at postpartum follow-ups across Canada, and how these learnings are guiding improvements to strengthen early support for families.
Coming home from a hospital with a new baby can be both exciting and daunting for new parents—eliciting questions, concerns and new experiences. In this transition period, postpartum follow up is a recommended practice worldwide to ensure safety and stability of birth parents and their newborns.
Postpartum follow-up is when a health care provider checks in and assesses the health of parents and their newborns after birth. The World Health Organization recommends that families are contacted within the first few days, and in this process, health care providers are also able to identify concerns and offer guidance or support.
During a routine review to ensure their programming is aligned with current evidence and best practices, our Population and Public Health Maternal-Child Health Team identified that although it is a recommended practice, there are no universal standards in Canada for postpartum follow-ups. Determined to help fill this gap, the team completed an environmental scan to learn how new parents and babies are supported in their transition from hospital to home across Canada.
“Postpartum follow-up is an important universal service for families and it can be an entry into enhanced services for those that need additional support,” says Michelle Urbina-Beggs, clinical nurse specialist, Maternal-Child Health, Population and Public Health. “This environmental scan helps us to ensure that we are aligned with standard practice and providing the best service we can in public health.”
The team interviewed 29 public health representatives across nine provinces, and reviewed websites and documents on postpartum follow-up from 10 provinces. They found that every province offers some form of universal postpartum follow-up, with an aim to contact parents within 24 to 72 hours of discharge from hospital.
Across the country, public health practitioners stressed the importance of this practice, noting that public health follow-up is particularly critical as parents and newborns spend less time in hospital after birth and may have limited contact with primary care providers immediately after discharge. These follow-ups allow public health nurses to identify each family’s unique needs, which means it is especially important to make sure this service is accessible for families who would benefit most from receiving additional supports.
Interviewees also noted how follow-ups should balance standardized screening and assessment tools with a client-centered, trauma-informed and inclusive approach to service delivery.
The team’s findings were published in Canadian Nurse in December—helping Fraser Health teams and practitioners across the country learn from each other and continually improve service to birthing parents, newborns and families.
These findings are also shaping improvements to our own processes. For example, the team is working closely with partners in the Maternal, Infant, Child and Youth Program to streamline communications about discharges from hospital, so that all families can receive timely follow up with the right care provider.
They are also partnering with Patient Education to improve patient facing discharge materials, making essential information more accessible and easier to understand. In the same stride, collaboration with First Nations partners is underway to strengthen discharge communication pathways for Indigenous clients from local First Nations communities. This work reflects our Population and Public Health Team’s dedication to make sure all families receive the support they need during the critical postpartum period.