New mothers are not getting the critical preventive care they need to stay healthy, leading to adverse health outcomes for them and for their children. While new parenthood is often an exciting, happy and rewarding time, it is a time in which mothers can also experience a range of negative health outcomes following birth. These include lack of sleep, stress, breastfeeding difficulties, and onset of mental health disorders, as well as challenges with preexisting health conditions, recovery from pregnancy complications, and social issues such as the need for new work or living arrangements. For the well-being of both mothers and infants, it is essential for moms to access health care in the postpartum period.

In this Research at a Glance brief, we review a PolicyLab and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia study that explores when and where mothers and infants are getting preventive care in the year after birth between adult and pediatric settings, and how this information could help maximize future health outcomes using an intergenerational approach.