Promoting Maternal Health in the Postpartum Period to Advance Birth Equity

Ariella Levisohn, Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson (), Colette Dieujuste and Lisa Heelan-Fancher
Additional contact information
Ariella Levisohn: School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson: McCormack Graduate School of Global and Policy Studies, College of Liberal Arts, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
Colette Dieujuste: Nursing Program, Wheaton College, Norton, MA 02766, USA
Lisa Heelan-Fancher: Donna M. and Robert J. Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Black birthing people experience lower rates of postpartum follow-up care. The objective of this study was to examine factors associated with postpartum follow-up care and explore suggestions for improving the quality and experience of care during the postpartum period. A survey was conducted among Black birthing people in the Boston area who had delivered an infant within two years of the study. Our survey comprised the Jackson, Hogue, Phillips Contextualized Stress Measure (JHPCSM), the Power as Knowing Participation in Change Tool (PKPCT), and demographic questions. One hundred and twenty-one self-identified Black birthing people completed the survey. One-third of participants did not attend their postpartum appointment. Those with public insurance, an educational level of less than a college degree, or were working outside the home were significantly less likely to have a postpartum follow-up visit. Participants who attended postpartum visits had higher scores on the JHPCSM (lower stress) and PKPCT. Inability to take time off from work, COVID-19 concerns, and lack of childcare were the most frequently reported barriers to attending appointments. There is a need for better institutional and policy support for Black parents in the postpartum period.

Keywords: birth equity; maternal health; postpartum; health equity; pregnancy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/12/1628/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/12/1628/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:12:p:1628-:d:1538174

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().