Every week, ECRI's Risk Tip brings you quick, actionable steps you can take to improve safety and reduce risk right away.
This month, ECRI is focusing on maternal and reproductive health.
This week’s Risk Tip provides steps for recognizing and responding to concerning postpartum conditions.
- Routinely ask patients if they are pregnant or have been pregnant in the past year and record results in the medical record.
- Watch for warning signs including, but not limited to, persistent headache, change in vision, dizziness or fainting, persistent and severe abdominal pain, significant swelling of hands or pain in legs, overwhelming fatigue, high blood pressure, and thoughts of hurting self or baby.
- Be vigilant during the postpartum year to provide early recognition and treatment of concerning conditions, including:
- Postpartum hemorrhage
- Sepsis and infection
- Postpartum depression and substance use
- Intimate partner violence
- Gestational diabetes mellitus
- Hypertensive disorders and preeclampsia
- Cardiomyopathy
View more in the webinar,
Primary Care of the Postpartum Patient: A High-Risk Year,
Get Safe! A Brief Case for Safety: Maternal Safety in the "Fourth Trimester", and
Resource Collection: Maternal and Perinatal Health and Safety.