In 60 seconds
What to know now
- The comprehensive postnatal review should cover physical recovery, mood, sleep, feeding, chronic conditions, relationships, contraception and future care.
- It is a planning visit, not a pass/fail inspection or automatic clearance for every activity.
- Bring the concerns most likely to be missed when the conversation focuses only on the baby.
What you may notice
Your recovery and mind
Discuss bleeding, pain, wounds, pelvic floor, bladder and bowel function, headaches, blood pressure, anaemia risk, sleep and mental health.
Sex may feel physically or emotionally different; contraception, comfort, consent, dryness, pain and trauma history can be discussed separately.
What is happening
Baby care and development
Review feeding, growth, safe sleep, development, immunisation plans and who provides ongoing infant care.
Ask what normal variation looks like and what specific change should prompt an earlier baby assessment.
A short checklist
What to do now
- Write a short agenda and put the most important concern first.
- Reconcile every prescription, over-the-counter medicine and supplement with the clinician and pharmacist.
- Make referrals and follow-up dates concrete before the visit ends.
Pause and check
What not to do—or what to ask first
- Do not assume the calendar alone makes heavy exercise, driving, penetration or lifting appropriate after pain, surgery, prolapse or other complications.
- Ask about pregnancy spacing and contraception before relying on periods or feeding as proof that pregnancy cannot occur.
What may be coming up
Appointments, tests and decisions
The postnatal review should connect unresolved pregnancy complications with primary, specialist, pelvic-health or mental-health care.
For the support person
One useful thing a partner can do
- Help prepare the agenda, cover baby care during the visit and make sure the recovering parent's questions are answered in their own right.
Contact your care team
Contact your doctor or maternity team promptly
Some concerns need advice before the next routine appointment even when they do not feel like an emergency. If a symptom becomes severe, sudden or frightening, use urgent care instead.
See when to contact careUrgent or emergency
Urgent signs during pregnancy or within a year after birth
Get medical care immediately for these symptoms. The list is not exhaustive; if something feels seriously wrong, seek help.
Open urgent warning signs