Practice related factors that may impact on postpartum care for mothers and infants in Australian general practice: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: While there is a significant focus on the health and well-being of women during pregnancy, labour and birth, much less emphasis is placed on the care of postpartum women and their infants in primary care following the birth. Some studies have investigated the role of GPs in postpartum care, and others examined facilitators and barriers to mothers accessing care. However there is little information available to investigate the effect of practice related factors on access to care of mothers and infants at this time.

Continuity of care in the post partum period: general practitioner experiences with communication.

Objectives Informational and management continuity of care assists in providing a seamless transition for women and infants from tertiary or secondary to primary care during the post partum period. Few studies have evaluated the interaction between different aspects of the health system following a woman's discharge from hospital after the birth of her infant. The present study describes how general practitioners (GPs) experience communications with hospitals and other post partum care providers relevant to continuity of care.

'I really needed help': What mothers say about their post-birth care in Queensland, Australia.

Background: Australian mothers consistently rate postnatal care as the poorest aspect of their maternity care, and researchers and policymakers have widely acknowledged the need for improvement in how postnatal care is provided.

Aim: To identify and analyse mothers' comments about postnatal care in their free text responses to an open ended question in the Having a Baby in Queensland Survey, 2010, and reflect on their implications for midwifery practice and maternity service policies.

Methods: The survey assessed mothers' experiences of maternity care four months after birth.

Postpartum consultations in Australian general practice.

Many GPs undertake postpartum care for women and their infants. GP follow-up enables early identification and management of problems, education and support for parenting, and reconnection with general practice following the birth. However, there is little information about GPs' understanding of their role in postpartum care and how it is undertaken.

Primary care of women after gestational diabetes mellitus: mapping the evidence-practice gap.

Objective: To determine the extent to which preventive activities, including the ordering of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) between 6 and 12 weeks of birth, are integrated into women's primary care postpartum visits after a gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)-affected pregnancy.

Design And Setting: Prospective survey and retrospective chart audit of general practices that provide maternity shared care in south-east Queensland, July 2011 to June 2012.

Participants: General practitioners (n = 38) and medical records of women to whom they provided care (n = 43 women).

Clinical guidelines for postpartum women and infants in primary care-a systematic review.

Background: While many women and infants have an uneventful course during the postpartum period, others experience significant morbidity. Effective postpartum care in the community can prevent short, medium and long-term consequences of unrecognised and poorly managed problems. The use of rigorously developed, evidence-based guidelines has the potential to improve patient care, impact on policy and ensure consistency of care across health sectors.

The impact of community health professional contact postpartum on breastfeeding at 3 months: a cross-sectional retrospective study.

This study investigated the effect of any health professional contact and the types of contact new mothers received in the first 10 days post-discharge on breastfeeding rates at 3 months. This cross-sectional retrospective self-report survey was distributed to women who birthed in Queensland, Australia between 1st February and 31st May 2010 at 4-5 months postpartum. Data were collected on pregnancy, birth, postpartum care and infant feeding.

Breastfeeding--a framework for educating the primary care medical workforce.

Objective: Breastfeeding is an important public health issue with an increase in infant and maternal morbidity and mortality for artificially-fed infants and their mothers. Doctors in primary care can influence mothers' infant feeding decisions, both positively and negatively, depending on the adequacy of their training. As there is no consistent approach to educating doctors in Australia at present, the development of a curriculum outline and educational strategies would be one step towards improving doctors' breastfeeding knowledge.