Postpartum care receipt among parents of infants admitted to a freestanding children’s hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)

Objective: Assess postpartum care attendance among parents of infants in a large, urban, children’s hospital Level IV NICU with an on-site delivery unit. Study Design: 86 postpartum parents of infants continuously hospitalized > six weeks and < one year postpartum in a Level IV NICU between 4/24/23 - 2/16/24 completed surveys. We compared postpartum visit attendance by six weeks, between parents of infants transferred into the children’s hospital NICU to parents of inborn infants. Results: 26 (30%) parents did not attend a postpartum visit by six weeks, significantly more common among parents of transferred (41%) than parents of inborn (10%) infants (aRR 4.5, 95% CI: 1.3-15.6). Health concerns were common in both groups. Conclusion: Parents of transferred infants had a higher risk of not attending a postpartum visit by six weeks compared to parents of inborn infants, highlighting the need for children’s hospitals to measure and address postpartum healthcare gaps.