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TOPLINE: 

This study highlighted disparities in postpartum 6-week checkups (SWCs) among poorer and younger women, as well as those with complicated pregnancies, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), emphasising the need for improved blood pressure (BP) monitoring to reduce long-term health risks.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers examined the prevalence of and disparities in postpartum SWC provision among women with HDP to address gaps in postpartum care.
• They analysed data from 30,483 women with HDP, aged 15-49 years at childbirth, using the UK's Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD database (2000-2018).
• They employed modified Poisson regression, categorised BP status, and evaluated cardiovascular disease (CVD) and general postnatal health.
• The primary outcome was the prevalence of SWCs, and secondary outcomes included cardiovascular conditions, BP status, and postpartum depression.

TAKEAWAY:

• Among the women, 61.4% had an SWC, with prevalence peaking at 66.8% in 2007 and declining to 56.8% by 2018; severe HDP was associated with decreased SWC attendance (adjusted risk ratio, 0.86).
• At 4-12 weeks postpartum, 66.2% of women who had an SWC had their BP recorded, whereas only 40.9% without an SWC did; after 12 weeks, these rates were 47.4% and 39.8%, respectively.
• Postpartum depression was more common in women who had an SWC than in those who did not have an SWC (13.6% vs 11.1%).
• Incident CVD events were slightly higher in women who had an SWC than in those who did not have an SWC (1.8% vs 1.4%), but the absolute numbers were small.

IN PRACTICE:

"There may be missed opportunities in postpartum care among women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Our findings highlight the need to ensure that general postpartum care is not overlooked in women with specific morbidities in pregnancy," the authors wrote. 

SOURCE:

This study was led by Rema Ramakrishnan, MPH, PhD, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. It was published online on February 25, 2025, in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.

LIMITATIONS:

The study limitations included potential inaccuracies in electronic health records, failure to account for health-seeking behaviours, and possible bias from excluding women who were not registered with a general practitioner for a year post-birth.

DISCLOSURES:

This research was partly funded by the National Institute for Health Research Policy Research Programme. The authors reported no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.