Maternal postnatal care in general practice: steps forward

Clare Macdonald; Louise Santhanam; Judy Shakespeare; Rehana Meeajan

doi:10.3399/bjgp24X739725

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Dr Stewart’s editorial ‘Maternal postnatal care in general practice: steps forward’ was timely and salient,¹ advocating for prominence of postnatal care in general practice and demonstrating some important progress since the recent past when primary care was almost absent from planned perinatal care.²

Dr Stewart correctly defines the guidance from NHS England as being ‘extensive’, and highlights the inadequate funding allocated to practices to provide postnatal consultations. Policy and funding must ensure that GPs are provided with the resources they need so that this consultation can be provided in a meaningful way, particularly for those at highest risk.

For GPs to provide ‘good’ care, they must be given opportunities to develop the skillset for these specific and often complex consultations in their training. As the curriculum stands, it is technically possible for GPs to complete their training without having observed or undertaken a postnatal maternal consultation. If we are to see even more ‘steps forward’, recognition of the role of GPs in perinatal care in the GP curriculum will be important. Another paper in this issue of the BJGP confirms the high number of primary care contacts for planned and unplanned care after childbirth, the maternal postnatal consultation being the most likely reason.³ GPs are doing this work, and need to be trained and supported to provide the best possible care.

This letter was submitted on behalf of GPs Championing Perinatal Care (GPCPC, www.gpcpc.co.uk). GPCPC is a growing network of GPs committed to advocating for improvements in perinatal care in general practice. We hope that shared learning, collaboration, and advocacy will provide an important platform for further improvements.

Notes

Competing interests

The contributors are committee members of GPs Championing Perinatal Care.

References

1.↵
1. Stewart S
(2024) Maternal postnatal care in general practice: steps forward. Br J Gen Pract, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp24X739161.
2.↵
1. Shakespeare J,
2. Adams C,
3. deGiorgio S,
4. et al.
(2020) We need to improve postnatal care, starting with the maternal six week postnatal check. BMJ 368, m252.
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3.↵
1. Smith HC,
2. Schartau P,
3. Saxena S,
4. Petersen I
(2024) The first 100 days after childbirth: cross-sectional study of maternal clinical events and health needs from primary care. Br J Gen Pract, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0634.