After pregnancy

As a new parent, you may feel your world revolves around your baby. But it’s important to care for yourself too. Through Baby Steps—UPMC Health Plan’s maternity program—you have access to a care manager at no cost to you. They can help you with after-pregnancy care.

You can make your journey healthier by following these tips:

Get your postpartum checkup.¹

The American College of Gynecology recommends having this appointment four to six weeks after your baby is born. The visit will give your health care provider a chance to see how you are doing. Are you healing properly? Are you feeling sad or having trouble adjusting to life with a newborn? Are you eating well and drinking enough water?

During your checkup, you can get support and resources to help you stay healthy—for your baby and yourself. The Baby Steps care manager can help you schedule the appointment and decide on the topics you want to discuss with your health care provider.

Here is what you can expect at your checkup:

• You'll have a physical exam, during which your health care provider will check your blood pressure, weight, breasts, and abdomen.¹
• You'll have a pelvic exam, during which your health care provider will check your vagina (birth canal), uterus (womb), and cervix to make sure they’re healthy. If you had an episiotomy (a small cut to the perineum—the area between the vagina and anus—to help the baby come out and prevent tearing) or a tear during birth, your provider will check to see if it has healed.¹
• Your health care provider may ask about your current mental/emotional state. Being a parent is a life-changing experience. This is the time to bring up any feelings of sadness or worry that have lasted since giving birth. If the feelings are serious, you could have postpartum depression (also called PPD). PPD is nothing to feel ashamed of, and it can be treated. You and your health care provider can discuss options that may help you feel better. Even if your provider does not ask about your mental/emotional state, be sure to bring up any concerns you have.
• You may need to get recommended vaccinations if you did not receive them before or during your pregnancy. This will help you and your baby stay as healthy as possible. Ask your health care provider about the following vaccines:
• Flu (influenza)
• Human papillomavirus (HPV)
• Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
• Chickenpox (varicella)
• Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap)³
• COVID-19 
• If you are a UPMC patient, click here to log on to MyUPMC and schedule your appointment online today.

 

Your health care provider may recommend other vaccines, depending your travel history, health conditions, or other factors.

• You can get help to manage a chronic illness. For example, you may have developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy. If so, your health care provider may give you a blood glucose test to determine if your blood sugar¹ has returned to normal and make sure you are as healthy as possible.

 

Think about whether you plan to have more children.

If there’s a chance you might want to have more children, now is the time to talk with your health care provider about planning for a healthy future pregnancy. You should have this discussion even if having another baby is not the first thing on your mind right now.

Remember, you may be able to get pregnant before your periods return—even while you’re breastfeeding. For most individuals who aren’t nursing, ovulation occurs about 45 days after their baby’s birth. But it can happen sooner.

Consider birth spacing or planning how long you want to wait to have your next child. There are benefits to waiting at least 18 months before having your next child. Waiting at least 18 months after giving birth before conceiving again gives your body time to:²

• Heal from infections and swelling that can happen during pregnancy. Conceiving again before you are fully healed can put you at risk for more swelling with your next pregnancy. Some evidence suggests that inflammation plays a role in preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). With this condition, the sac around the baby breaks before 37 weeks and causes labor to start early.
• Build back vitamins and minerals depleted during pregnancy. These nutrients are important for your baby. Back-to-back pregnancies may leave fewer nutrients for your next child and you.
• Reset the birth canal microbiome. It may take up to a year to reset this microbiome after pregnancy. It is possible that a vaginal microbiome that’s out of balance could lead to premature birth.
  
  Knowing whether you want to have children in the next few years can help you and your partner plan for conception or choose appropriate birth control.

 

Choose a birth control option that is right for you.²

Before deciding on a birth control method, discuss the pros and cons of each with your health care provider. Some common options are:

• Hormonal methods, such as birth control pills, skin patches, and vaginal rings.
• IUDs (intrauterine devices), such as copper and hormonal options. Your health care provider will need to place the IUD in your uterus. Some individuals choose to have an IUD implanted right after they deliver their baby. With this option, they do not need to schedule an additional procedure and already have contraception in place. IUDs typically last three to five years but can be removed at any time. Talk to your health care provider about the option that’s best for you.
• Barrier methods, such as condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps, and sponges.
• Natural family planning, which is tracking the time of the month when your body releases an egg (ovulation). If you do not want to get pregnant, you should avoid having sexual intercourse when you are ovulating or use a barrier method for protection.
• Permanent birth control, which is also known as sterilization. These procedures are available for both men and women and include a vasectomy to prevent sperm from fertilizing an egg or tubal ligation or "getting your tubes tied.”
• Emergency contraception (EC), which is also known as “the morning after pill.” Plan B One-Step® is one type of EC. It is used when other birth control methods fail. For example, you might use EC if the condom breaks or you forget to take your birth control pills.²

 

Get help breastfeeding.

A Baby Steps care manager can answer your questions and direct you to resources, such as breastfeeding support classes that are offered at UPMC facilities. Some of our care managers are certified breastfeeding counselors, allowing them to help you if you want to breastfeed.

 

Get neonatal intensive care services support.

It can be overwhelming when your baby is in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We can help. Neonatal intensive care services support is available for families during and after a NICU stay. Our NICU care managers are specially trained to support you during this time.

If you need help understanding your child’s medical condition, planning for your child’s discharge, or handling health insurance issues, our NICU care managers can help.

Their support is available at no cost through the UPMC Health Plan NICU Care Management Program. You can use this program throughout your baby's first year.

Learn more about the UPMC Health Plan NICU Care Management Program and all the ways a care manager can help you.

 

Contact a Baby Steps care manager today!