The bipartisan legislation requires health care professionals to offer pregnant patients a postpartum planning session as early as the first trimester of pregnancy. It also requires health care facilities providing maternity care services to ensure that postpartum care information is provided to all patients receiving maternity care services prior to being discharged at the end of a pregnancy, including for patients who have experienced a stillbirth or pregnancy loss.
The New Jersey Maternal Mortality Review Committee has found that most pregnancy-related deaths occur in the postpartum period. This law will help address preventable factors like care continuity and patient knowledge about risk indicators. This builds on existing efforts through Nurture NJ to enhance postpartum care, such as continuous NJ FamilyCare coverage for 365 days postpartum and the continued expansion of Family Connects NJ, New Jersey’s universal nurse home visitation program.
“There is no playbook one mysteriously inherits after delivering a baby and certainly not one that eases the physical challenges moms need to overcome while taking care of a newborn. As a society, we must uplift our families and ensure they have the care and support they need,” First Lady Tammy Murphy said in a statement.
- the name, phone number, and office address of the patient’s care team
- if applicable, the time, date, and location for the patient’s postpartum visits and a phone number to call to schedule or reschedule appointments
- guidance regarding breastfeeding to allow the patient to make an informed feeding decision
- a reproductive life plan and appropriate contraception
- notes about any of the patient’s pregnancy complications and recommended follow-ups or test results
- guidance regarding signs and symptoms of postpartum depression or anxiety; management, including recommendations on how to manage anxiety, depression, or other psychiatric issues identified during pregnancy or in the postpartum period
- recommendations for the management of postpartum issues, such as without limitation pelvic floor exercise for stress, urinary incontinence, or water-based lubricant for dyspareunia; and
- a treatment plan for ongoing physical and mental health conditions which identifies the care team member responsible for follow-up.
How much will they reimburse doulas?
I’ve paid as much as $1,500 and I’ve heard of people spending over $2,000.
Will private insurance be required to cover doulas?
You didn’t read the article did you?
This is so full of liberal bull I don’t want to say what, that it’s early insane!
What is a pregnant patient? What is a postpartum patient? Say the word WOMEN you wuss!
Sounds like a bunch of paperwork that isn’t going to actually help anyone
the adults it will help are not announcing their distress, the children it will save are to young to call for help.
And hopefully it will help medical professionals identify women at risk of PPD and provide appropriate interventions. After last summers murder of two children by their mother, one would think that these efforts would be welcomed.