Postpartum care screenings by care modality among US mothers, 2020-2021

Postpartum care is critical to preventing pregnancy-associated deaths. Virtual modes of care have potential to improve access to postpartum care; however, the impact on postpartum screenings for cigarette smoking, emotional/physical abuse, and depression is unknown.

The purpose of this study was to compare receipt of these screenings between mothers who received any virtual postpartum care and those whose care was exclusively in-person.

Using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System Phase 8 data, we estimated receipt of postpartum care screenings for smoking, emotional/physical abuse, and depression for US mothers during COVID-19 (2020-2021) and assessed differences by mode of care. The analytical sample (n=21,815) included mothers from 28 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System study sites who had postpartum care and answered the mode of care question and all 3 postpartum screening questions.

Over half of all mothers were screened for cigarette smoking (56.45%) and emotional/physical abuse (59.28%) during their postpartum care, whereas screening for depression was much more prevalent (87.63%). A higher percentage of screenings for smoking, emotional/physical abuse, and depression was reported for mothers who received any virtual postpartum care compared with those who attended exclusively in-person care (all P<.001). After adjusting for covariates, the prevalence of screening for cigarette smoking, emotional/physical abuse, and depression was 14%, 18%, and 6% higher, respectively, among mothers who received any virtual (vs. exclusively in-person) postpartum care.

Virtual postpartum care may improve the percentage of women receiving screenings for important maternal health risks and behaviors, such as cigarette smoking, emotional/physical abuse, and depression. Further research is needed to determine whether mothers receiving virtual postpartum care are more likely to receive screenings because of the mode of care itself.