Postpartum Care: After Baby is Born

After labor and delivery, your attention shifts to caring for your new baby—but you also need to take care of yourself. 

Postpartum care might involve managing vaginal tears or a C-section wound, sore breasts, leaking milk, urination problems and hair loss. And it isn't just about your physical health; it also includes your mental wellbeing, from managing mood swings and irritability to coping with sadness and anxiety. 

Throughout your stay at one of our CHI Health Maternity Centers, our nurses will walk you through everything you’ll need to know about postpartum care once you return home.

Caring for Yourself After Delivery

During your hospital stay, you will have access to in-room educational videos to watch at your convenience. Topics include: car seat safety, newborn care and postpartum care after delivery. And, of course, our nurses are always available to answer your questions.

Once you leave the hospital, our nurses are just a phone call away if you have questions during your first days at home. You can also call to schedule an outpatient visit at any time. 

We also encourage you to take advantage of our new baby support groups and classes to ask questions of our experts and get support from other new parents.

Insurance Enrollment for your Newborn

This is friendly reminder to enroll your child in your health insurance plan.  You can enroll in health insurance up to 30 days from the birth or adoption of a child. Coverage may include:

  • Labor and delivery services
  • Breastfeeding supplies and equipment
  • Follow up doctor visits
  • Birth complications
  • Supplements
  • Health screenings

To enroll your newborn, call the phone number listed on the back of your insurance card for instructions. If your coverage is through your employer, you may need to coordinate with your human resources or benefits department. Please provide the Maternity Center with a valid copy of your baby’s insurance card once received.

Our Approach to Infant Feeding Care

One of the most important choices a new parent makes is how to feed their newborn. At CHI Health, our physicians, nurses and breastfeeding support specialists are here to help you make the best choice for you and your family. 

Our approach to infant feeding is guided by compassion, research, real-world experiences and the infant's and family's unique needs. It’s designed to help all families thrive, supporting both breastfeeding families and those who make an informed choice not to breastfeed. 

More about our approach

At CHI Health, we help all families create a feeding plan, whether they choose breast milk, formula or a combination of both. We follow the latest scientific recommendations and stand by the following six guiding principles: 

  1. Promote breastfeeding for its health benefits.
    • We believe that human milk is the most natural way to nourish an infant. Babies who drink only breast milk have a lower risk of health problems, including ear infections, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and heart disease later in life.
  2. Foster skin-to-skin contact for improved well-being.
    • Research shows that early skin-to-skin contact is ideal for introducing babies to breastfeeding and their new surroundings. Keeping mothers and babies together during the hospital stay also creates bonding opportunities. We support keeping mothers and babies together unless separation is medically necessary. 
  3. Extend feeding support beyond breastfeeding.
    • While human milk is the best source of nutrition for infants, we fully support parents who may need to complement breastfeeding with donated human milk or infant formula.
  4. Provide human milk to premature babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
    • Many NICU parents are overwhelmed and need special support to feed their infants. Our nurses and breastfeeding support staff educate families on how to use breast pumps and feed expressed human milk correctly.
  5. Teach, empower and support parents.
    • Our staff provides lactation support and education to help families meet their goals and feel confident in feeding their baby. Parents who know how to breastfeed and feel comfortable breastfeeding are more likely to succeed. 
  6. Build a strong breastfeeding foundation.
    • Support, knowledge and practice are essential for successful breastfeeding beyond the hospital walls. As families prepare to leave the hospital, our staff ensures they have the necessary local resources and information to continue their journey with confidence.

In Person or Virtual Lactation Consulting Visits

Our lactation consultants offer mothers one-on-one breastfeeding support and encouragement. All are International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) and have helped hundreds of mothers work through breastfeeding challenges. 

Get expert help in our clinic or from the comfort of home. A virtual visit is a secure video call from your phone
or computer. You can request a Virtual Visit when you schedule an appointment, and instructions will be sent via email. 

Our consultants can help you with:

  • Latch and feeding assessment
  • Baby fussy at the breast
  • Milk supply concerns
  • Pumping questions
  • Plugged ducts, mastitis and nipple pain
  • Plan to return to work

What to Expect at Your Appointment

Your consultant will discuss your medical history and breastfeeding concerns. Your baby’s appearance and behavior during breastfeeding may be observed and assessed. At the end of your appointment, you and your consultant will create a care plan together.

To schedule, call the location nearest you:

"Baby Talk" Breastfeeding Support Groups

A free support group led by certified Lactation Consultants, where breastfeeding moms can find support during their babies first year of life.

Sessions are held at the following times and locations:

  • Mondays at 2 p.m. at CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center - Bergan Mercy
  • Tuesdays at 2 p.m. at CHI Health Immanuel
  • Every Wednesday, 2-3 p.m. at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs in Room #333
  • Thursdays at 2 p.m. at CHI Health Lakeside

Register for a session and view more information.

The 12 weeks after you give birth are a special time. Babies are adjusting to life outside the womb. For moms, it’s also a time of great emotional and physical changes as you recover from childbirth and your hormones continue to shift. While you focus on the joys and challenges baby brings, it’s important not to overlook your own health and wellness. Important aspects of self-care include:

  • Eating good, nutritious food
  • Sleeping when you can
  • Asking for and accepting help
  • Seeing your doctor for follow-up appointments

It’s essential to watch for post-birth complications and contact your provider if you have any concerns.

Preeclampsia

Even if you had normal blood pressures throughout your pregnancy, you should still notify your obstetrician if you develop headaches, vision changes or pain in the right upper portion of your abdomen — especially in the first two weeks after you deliver.

Hemorrhage

This usually occurs in in first 24 hours but in some instances there can be a delayed hemorrhage. This is defined as excessive bleeding greater than 24 hours after delivery and occurs in about 1% of pregnancies. If you are soaking through entire pads in less than an hour, you need to contact your physician.

Infection

It’s possible to develop an infection inside your uterus after delivery. If you experience fever (greater than 100.4 degrees F), chills or foul smelling vaginal discharge, you should notify your obstetric provider.
If you had a cesarean section, fever (greater than 100.4 degrees F), chills or discharge/redness around your incision could be a sign of a skin infection. You will want to notify your doctor about these symptoms right away.

Pelvic Health

Our team of pelvic physical therapists can help with issues of the pelvic floor. Learn more.

Mood Changes

Up to 70% of women will experience some sort of mood disturbance within first several months of having child. Is it baby blues, anxiety or postpartum depression?

Baby blues are considered any mood disturbance in first four weeks after baby is born. It’s quite common to feel weepy and cry for no reason, feel impatient, sad, restless or have difficulty concentrating. Hormonal change plus the sleep disturbance that comes with baby can trigger these emotions which usually lessen with time – usually within the first 10 days.

Postpartum anxiety is extremely common but oftentimes unnoticed because many think anxiety simply comes with motherhood. But extreme anxiety, difficulty controlling worry, difficulty concentrating, irritability and sleep disturbance signal something more serious.

Postpartum depression is considered when a mom has more than four weeks of depressive symptoms that severely impact her daily functioning, including loss of interest in activities, decreased motivation, sleep disturbances, appetite problems, fatigue and thoughts of harming self/others.

Changes you might notice include:

  • Insomnia or sleeping too much
  • Unwilling or unable to care for newborn
  • Not taking care of self
  • Decreased appetite/li>
  • Anxiety or irritability

Women at increased risk for postpartum depression include those with:

  • Personal or family history of anxiety
  • Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
  • Obsessive compulsive disorder

Moms with babies in NICU also have an increased risk of postpartum depression, anxiety, PTSD, traumatic birth experience. In fact, up to 15% of women with baby in NICU meet diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.

It’s important to get evaluated by a professional as soon as possible for mood disturbances. It’s been shown that maternal mental health impacts bonding, maternal confidence and infant development.

Is it baby blues or something more? New parents can experience mental health challenges during and after pregnancy. Common concerns during this time include baby blues, perinatal depression, perinatal anxiety, postpartum OCD, and postpartum PTSD. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, every year more than 400,000 babies are born to mothers who have depression, which makes perinatal depression the most under diagnosed obstetric complication in America. 

Learn more about Perinatal Mental Health