The care of a woman and her baby in the immediate hours, days and weeks following birth can make an enormous difference to their long- term health and well-being. The content and timing of postnatal care led by midwives was formalised in the United Kingdom following a statutory legislation that was first introduced in England in 1902. Then there were concerns that too many women were dying following birth. The provision of midwifery care for all women including postnatal contacts in hospital and in the home, together with improved public health and advances in medicine, led to a dramatic fall in the UK maternal mortality rate. Sadly, the main causes of death at the beginning of the twentieth century in the United Kingdom, haemorrhage and sepsis, continue to kill hundreds of thousands of women globally. Postnatal care has frequently been portrayed as the ‘Cinderella’ of the maternity service, and often appears to be the least important and resourced part of the woman’s journey through pregnancy and birth.
In the United Kingdom, the last decade has witnessed a decline in the provision of midwifery postnatal care contacts; conversely evidence of the potential benefits of effective postnatal care for maternal health has been published. The increasing ‘invisibility’ of postnatal care is an issue that should concern all who recognise the importance of good maternal health not only for the well-being of a family but also for the well-being of wider society. Postnatal services have been affected by a shortage of midwifery staff and increased pressure on our units as a result of the increasing birth rate. We also know that women may be entering pregnancy in poorer health, which in turn has implications for the level of care they require during and after they have given birth. It is within this current context of care that this book has been written.