{"doi":"10.1089/jwh.2024.0108","title":"Improving Care Beyond Birth: A Qualitative Study of Postpartum Care After High-Risk Pregnancy","abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:</jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The postpartum period is a window to engage birthing people in their long-term health and facilitate connections to comprehensive care. However, postpartum systems often fail to transition high-risk patients from obstetric to primary care. Exploring patient experiences can be helpful for optimizing systems of postpartum care.</jats:p>\n                  </jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods:</jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This is a qualitative study of high-risk pregnant and postpartum individuals. We conducted in-depth interviews with 20 high-risk pregnant or postpartum people. Interviews explored personal experiences of postpartum care planning, coordination of care between providers, and patients’ perception of ideal care transitions. We performed thematic analysis using the\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior</jats:italic>\n                      (COM-B) model of behavior change as a framework. COM-B allowed for a formal structure to assess participants’ ability to access postpartum care and primary care reengagement after delivery.\n                    </jats:p>\n                  </jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:</jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Participants universally identified difficulty accessing primary care in the postpartum period, with the most frequently reported barriers being lack of knowledge and supportive environments. Insufficient preparation, inadequate prenatal counseling, and lack of standardized care transitions were the most significant barriers to primary care reengagement. Participants who most successfully engaged in primary care had postpartum care plans, coordination between obstetric and primary care, and access to material resources.</jats:p>\n                  </jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>High-risk postpartum individuals do not receive effective counseling on the importance of primary care engagement after delivery. System-level challenges and lack of care coordination also hinder access to primary care. Future interventions should include prenatal education on the benefits of primary care follow-up, structured postpartum planning, and system-level improvements in obstetric and primary care provider communication.</jats:p>\n                  </jats:sec>","journal":"Journal of Women's Health","year":2024,"id":609116,"datarank":0.29188652235829704,"base_score":1.9459101490553132,"endowment":1.9459101490553132,"self_citation_contribution":0.29188652235829704,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.29188652235829704,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":6,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":682206,"name":"Ann C. Celi","orcid":"0000-0003-1988-3715","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1565420,"name":"Judy Margo","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1565421,"name":"Alexandra Wehbe","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1565422,"name":"Ami Karlage","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1565423,"name":"Chloe A. Zera","orcid":null,"position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1565419,"name":"Sara E. K. Phillips","orcid":"0000-0002-6843-9445","position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Improving Care Beyond Birth: A Qualitative Study of Postpartum Care After High-Risk Pregnancy","abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:</jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The postpartum period is a window to engage birthing people in their long-term health and facilitate connections to comprehensive care. However, postpartum systems often fail to transition high-risk patients from obstetric to primary care. Exploring patient experiences can be helpful for optimizing systems of postpartum care.</jats:p>\n                  </jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods:</jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This is a qualitative study of high-risk pregnant and postpartum individuals. We conducted in-depth interviews with 20 high-risk pregnant or postpartum people. Interviews explored personal experiences of postpartum care planning, coordination of care between providers, and patients’ perception of ideal care transitions. We performed thematic analysis using the\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior</jats:italic>\n                      (COM-B) model of behavior change as a framework. COM-B allowed for a formal structure to assess participants’ ability to access postpartum care and primary care reengagement after delivery.\n                    </jats:p>\n                  </jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:</jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Participants universally identified difficulty accessing primary care in the postpartum period, with the most frequently reported barriers being lack of knowledge and supportive environments. Insufficient preparation, inadequate prenatal counseling, and lack of standardized care transitions were the most significant barriers to primary care reengagement. Participants who most successfully engaged in primary care had postpartum care plans, coordination between obstetric and primary care, and access to material resources.</jats:p>\n                  </jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>High-risk postpartum individuals do not receive effective counseling on the importance of primary care engagement after delivery. System-level challenges and lack of care coordination also hinder access to primary care. Future interventions should include prenatal education on the benefits of primary care follow-up, structured postpartum planning, and system-level improvements in obstetric and primary care provider communication.</jats:p>\n                  </jats:sec>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":1.9459101490553132,"endowment":1.9459101490553132,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"38860345","pmcid":null,"openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W4399547466","authors":[],"funders":[],"total_grants":0,"fwci":2.6637,"citation_percentile":0.89670747,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[{"year":2025,"count":4},{"year":2026,"count":2}],"oa_status":"closed","license":"https://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1089/jwh.2024.0108","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/jwh.2024.0108","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2024.0108","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38860345","host_type":"repository"}],"fields_of_study":["Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions","Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum","Global Maternal and Child Health","Humans","Female","Pregnancy","Qualitative Research","Adult","Postnatal Care","Postpartum Period","Pregnancy, High-Risk","Primary Health Care","Interviews as Topic","Health Services Accessibility","Continuity of Patient Care","Young Adult","Prenatal Care"],"mesh_terms":["Adult","Continuity of Patient Care","Female","Health Services Accessibility","Humans","Interviews as Topic","Postnatal Care","Pregnancy","Prenatal Care","Primary Health Care","Pregnancy, High-Risk","Qualitative Research","Postpartum Period","Young Adult"],"keywords":["Pregnancy","Obstetrics","High risk pregnancy","Medicine","Qualitative research","Sociology","Access To Care","Care Transitions","Care Coordination","Postpartum Care","Barriers To Care","Com-b Model","Facilitators To Care","Primary Care Reengagement"],"sdg_mappings":[],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-31T03:23:26.973048Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}