Maternal Risk Factors Associated with Poor Postpartum Healthcare Utilization

Abstract

Objectives: Perceptions regarding the benefits of postpartum care among mothers and clinicians often differ. Clinicians generally perceive postpartum care as preventative, whereas pregnant and postpartum women often lack knowledge about its preventative benefits. As a result many women choose not to return for scheduled postpartum care visits. Methods: To examine if clinically relevant demographic and birth related factors are informative predictors for postpartum healthcare follow-up care, we conducted a population based cohort study of all women who delivered a child in 2012 – 2015 at the New York Mount Sinai Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Ambulatory Practice. Data was ascertained from electronic health records.Results: Of the 4,240 unique women who delivered between 2012-2015 at the Mount Sinai Hospital OB/GYN Ambulatory Practice, 1,685 (39.7%) did not return for their postpartum care follow-up appointment. The number of prenatal visits, maternal age, and parity were significantly associated with postpartum care follow-up. Conclusion for Practice: The purpose of this study was to determine identifiable factors associated with reduced postpartum healthcare follow-up utilization. Several clinically relevant variables were associated with the reduced likelihood for attending postpartum care visits. Because pregnant women represent a medically captured population, the results of this study point to the need to increase postpartum healthcare literacy during perinatal appointments especially among younger mothers, women who have had previous deliveries, and those with fewer prenatal visits.