The fourth trimester: What you should know

We hear a lot about the three trimesters of pregnancy. But many women (and even some medical professionals) know little about a newly described and critical time period in women’s lives that desperately needs our attention: the fourth trimester. As a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, I know that the medical care of women before, during, and immediately after pregnancy has long focused on the goal of achieving a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. But too often, the fourth trimester — that time between birth and 12 weeks postpartum — is swept aside. For example, we encourage all women to start taking prenatal vitamins before conceiving and meet with their primary care providers to optimize their health before conception. During pregnancy, women’s schedules are filled with appointments for prenatal care visits, ultrasounds, and lab tests, and perhaps even nutrition and social work consultations. Weekly visits in the final month of pregnancy provide opportunities for fetal heart checks, maternal blood pressure and weight evaluations, paired with slow and steady counseling and anticipatory guidance for the process of labor and birth. Though some attention is given to preparing pregnant women for the challenges of breastfeeding and the pitfalls of postpartum depression, women, families, and healthcare providers tend to focus on a healthy outcome at birth. What happens during the fourth trimester? After birth, the close attention given to mothers in the last few weeks...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Parenting Pregnancy Women's Health Source Type: blogs