The arrival of a new baby ushers in a period of incredible joy, profound love, and a whirlwind of activity. In those initial weeks, the world rightly revolves around your newborn’s needs – their feeding, their sleep, their every little cry and coo. However, amidst this beautiful chaos, it’s easy for a new mother’s own health and the routine check-ups for the baby to take a backseat. This period after birth, often called the ‘fourth trimester’, is a time of significant healing and adjustment, making continued medical care absolutely essential for both you and your little one.
My name is Dr. Vrushali Pillai, and as a Senior Consultant in Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Borneo Hospital, Thane – part of the Borneo group with branches across Thane, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, and Raipur City – I am passionate about supporting women through their entire postpartum journey. We, along with our expert paediatric team led by Dr. Santosh Madrewar, believe that a healthy family starts with a healthy mother and a thriving baby.
This article aims to strongly emphasise the Importance of Regular Check-Ups after you’ve given birth. We’ll explore why these postnatal visits for both you and your baby are not just a formality, but a critical safety net for preventing, identifying, and managing potential health issues, ensuring everyone gets the best possible start on this new journey together.
What are Postnatal Check-Ups? A Vital Continuation of Care
Postnatal check-ups are a series of scheduled medical appointments for both the mother and her newborn in the weeks and months following childbirth. They are a continuation of the excellent care you received during your pregnancy.
Think of them not as visits for when something is wrong, but as proactive health assessments designed to ensure everything is progressing as it should. Typically, some initial checks occur before you even leave the hospital. Your baby will then usually have check-ups with a paediatrician within the first few days and weeks. The new mother typically has a comprehensive postnatal review with her obstetrician or gynaecologist around six weeks after delivery, although earlier or additional appointments might be necessary depending on your specific circumstances.
For the New Mother: Your Essential Postnatal Check-Up
Your body has done something truly amazing. This check-up, usually around 6 weeks postpartum, is focused entirely on your health and recovery. The Importance of Regular Check-Ups for you cannot be overstated.
1. Assessing Your Physical Recovery from Childbirth:
This is a head-to-toe assessment of your healing process.
- Uterine Healing: I will check your abdomen to ensure your uterus (womb) is contracting and shrinking back down towards its normal size (a process called involution).
- Wound Examination: If you had a Caesarean section, your incision site will be examined to ensure it is healing well, with no signs of infection like excessive redness, swelling, or discharge. Similarly, if you had a vaginal birth with any perineal tears or an episiotomy, the healing of your stitches is assessed.
- Postpartum Bleeding (Lochia): We’ll discuss your bleeding pattern. It’s normal for the lochia (postpartum discharge) to gradually lessen and change colour over several weeks. We check to make sure this is happening normally to rule out complications like an infection or retained placental fragments.
- Blood Pressure Monitoring: Your blood pressure will be checked. This is particularly vital if you experienced hypertension or pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, as these conditions can sometimes persist or even arise for the first time in the postpartum period.
- Anaemia Follow-up: We will discuss your energy levels and symptoms. In India, where anaemia is common, and given the blood loss during delivery, we may recommend a blood test to check your haemoglobin levels and ensure you are recovering well.
2. Addressing Your Physical Health Concerns:
This is your dedicated time to talk about any ongoing physical issues.
- Pain Management: We can discuss any persistent discomfort from your C-section wound, perineum, or backache and suggest management strategies.
- Bladder & Bowel Function: It’s common to have questions about urinary leakage (incontinence) or constipation. We can offer advice and reinforce the importance of pelvic floor exercises (Kegels), which is beneficial towards recovery.
- Breast Health: We can discuss breast health, whether you are breastfeeding or not, checking for any issues like persistent pain, lumps, or signs of mastitis (a breast infection).
3. Prioritising Your Emotional Well-being (A CRUCIAL Check):
- Screening for Postpartum Depression (PPD): This is one of the most important aspects of the postnatal visit. We will ask you about your mood, your energy, how you are coping with the new demands, and your feelings about motherhood. This helps us differentiate between the very common and temporary ‘baby blues’ and the more serious, treatable medical condition of Postpartum Depression (PPD). Please be open and honest; we are here to support you without judgment.
4. Planning for Your Future Health:
- Contraception: We will have a detailed discussion about your future family planning intentions and provide information on safe, effective contraception options that are suitable for the postpartum period and compatible with breastfeeding.
- Resuming Activities: Based on your recovery, I will provide personalised guidance on when it is generally safe to resume activities like your regular exercise routine and sexual intercourse.
5. Answering All YOUR Questions:
- This visit is focused on you. It’s the perfect opportunity to ask any questions you have about your body, your recovery, or your health.
For the New Baby: The Paediatrician’s Essential Check-Ups
Your baby grows and changes at an astonishing rate in the early weeks. The Importance of Regular Check-Ups with a paediatrician, like Dr. Santosh Madrewar and his team at Borneo Hospital, is critical.
1. Monitoring Growth & Nutrition:
- Weight is a Key Indicator: Your baby will be weighed at each visit to ensure they have regained their birth weight and are growing steadily along their growth curve. This is one of the most reliable signs that they are feeding well and thriving. Length and head circumference are also tracked.
- Detailed Feeding Assessment: The paediatrician will discuss feeding in detail. For breastfed babies, this is a chance to address any concerns about latch, frequency, or milk supply. For formula-fed babies, it ensures the correct type and amount is being given. Nappy output (wet and dirty nappies) will be discussed as a key indicator of adequate intake. We can connect you with our excellent lactation support team if needed.
2. Comprehensive Physical Examination (Head-to-Toe):
- The paediatrician will perform a thorough physical exam to detect any potential issues early. This includes checking the fontanelles (soft spots on the head), examining the eyes for a normal red reflex, listening to the heart for any murmurs, checking the lungs, feeling the abdomen, and assessing the baby’s hip stability to screen for a condition called Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH). The skin will be checked for jaundice or rashes, and the umbilical stump for proper healing.
3. Tracking Developmental Milestones:
- The doctor will assess your baby’s development based on their age, checking their reflexes, muscle tone, responsiveness, their ability to make eye contact, and those first precious social smiles which usually appear around 6-8 weeks.
4. Preventive Care: Immunisations:
- Absolutely Vital: These early paediatric visits are when your baby receives their crucial first immunisations according to the recommended schedule (UIP and/or IAP). Keeping these vaccinations on time is the single most important thing you can do to protect your child from serious diseases like polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, and more. Borneo Hospital provide comprehensive vaccination services.
5. Reviewing Newborn Screening Results:
- The results of screening tests done in the hospital after birth (such as for hearing and certain metabolic conditions) will be reviewed and discussed with you.
6. Guiding and Reassuring Parents:
- These visits are your dedicated time to ask the expert any questions you have about your baby’s health, sleep, crying, feeding, rashes, or general care. Getting reassurance and guidance from a trusted paediatrician is invaluable for building your confidence as a new parent.
The “Don’t Miss It” Message: Risks of Skipping Check-Ups
In the whirlwind of life with a newborn, it can be tempting to think these follow-up visits are optional. They are not. The Importance of Regular Check-Ups lies in the serious issues they help prevent or manage early.
- Risks for the Mother: Missing your postnatal check could lead to undetected infections (in a wound or the uterus), unresolved high blood pressure, severe untreated anaemia, thyroid problems, or a missed diagnosis of Postpartum Depression, which can lead to prolonged suffering.
- Risks for the Baby: Missing paediatric visits can mean a delay in identifying poor weight gain (‘failure to thrive’), severe jaundice that could become harmful, congenital conditions like hip dysplasia or some heart issues, or falling behind on life-saving vaccinations, leaving your child dangerously vulnerable.
Prioritising these appointments is a direct investment in the health of your family. If getting to appointments is difficult, please ask your partner, family, or friends for support to ensure you can attend.
Borneo Hospital’s Integrated Approach to Postnatal Care
At Borneo Hospital, we believe in seamless, family-centred care. While your postnatal check-up with an Obstetrician like myself may be separate from your baby’s appointments with a Paediatrician like Dr. Santosh Madrewar, our teams work together. We understand that a mother’s well-being and her infant’s health are deeply connected. Our commitment across all our branches in Thane, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, and Raipur is to provide this comprehensive, coordinated support during the entire postpartum period.
The postpartum period is a time for continued care and vigilance. Attending your scheduled Postnatal Check-Ups for Mother and Baby is an absolutely essential part of ensuring a healthy recovery for you and a strong, thriving start for your newborn. These visits are your dedicated safety net and a vital opportunity for monitoring, early detection of potential problems, expert guidance, and much-needed reassurance.
We strongly urge all new parents to prioritise these appointments. They are a shared responsibility and one of the most important things you can do for your family in the fourth trimester. The team at Borneo Hospital is committed to being your partner in health throughout this special journey.
