The standard for postpartum care is an OB/GYN visit six weeks after birth, and that’s it. Notre Dame researcher Joyce Adams says that’s not enough, especially for at-risk women, and she's eager to show why that standard needs to change.
Adams, an associate professor at Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health, is partnering with Beacon Health System to pilot a new, first-of-its-kind focused postpartum care model in the South Bend-Elkhart community.
Indiana continually ranks near the bottom in infant and maternal health, and Adams has been passionate about the problem since coming to Notre Dame in 2012 for her PhD program.
”And so to be able to get to this point where we actually implement this program with women is really exciting,” Adams says.
She has won a $310,000 two-year grant from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation. They’ll provide focused postpartum care to 104 new mothers in St. Joseph, Elkhart and Marshall counties.
Instead of just one visit six weeks after birth, these women will have doctor visits at two weeks and six weeks, followed by monthly visits with a nurse and community health worker.
“We are seeing more complications show up within that 43 days to one year post-birth and the numbers are telling us that more women are dying beyond that six-week timeframe.”
Adams and her work will be featured in the latest What Would You Fight For? campaign, which will air at halftime of Saturday’s Notre Dame-Boise State football game.