Guidance published by NHS England in December 2023 to support GPs in delivering the 6-8 week maternal postnatal consultation.
Useful Resources
There are a huge number of respected books/websites/papers on perinatal care. Below is a selection of texts, including documents produced by GPCPC that may be useful for both GPs and patients or their families.
We will try to keep this list up-to-date. If there is anything that you think should be added, updated or changed please contact [email protected]
NICE Guideline [NG194] Postnatal care (2021)
This guideline covers the routine postnatal care that women and their babies should receive in the first 8 weeks after the birth.
NICE Quality Standard [QS37]: Postnatal care (updated 2022)
GPCPC contributed to the stakeholder stages of this Quality Standard and support and endorse it. It covers key areas for improvement in postnatal care, and Quality Statement 6 about the GP postnatal check for women is of particular relevance to primary care.
NICE Guideline [NG247]: Maternal and child nutrition- nutrition and weight management in pregnancy, and nutrition in children up to 5 years (January 2025)
This guideline updates and replaces NICE PH11 and PH27. It covers nutrition and weight management in pregnancy for anyone who may become pregnant, is planning to become pregnant or is already pregnant, and nutrition in children up to 5 years. Care of babies and children born preterm or with low birth weight is not covered. The guideline does not give detailed advice on what constitutes a healthy diet. GPCPC contributed as a stakeholder to consultation on the content of this guideline.
NHS London Maternity Clinical Network: Standardising postnatal guidance for mother’s care provided by NHS maternity services (2021)
Document from the NHS London Maternity Clinical Network bringing together guidance from national recommendations for common clinical conditions alongside learnings from maternal mortality and morbidity reports, with the aim of improving postnatal outcomes for women.
NHS Website: Your post-pregnancy body
NHS information about normal physical changes after birth.
Make Birth Better
The website of a collective of experts who bring together lived experience and extensive professional knowledge of birth trauma and vicarious trauma. Make Birth Better supports both parents and professionals impacted by birth trauma, offer a wide range of training and raise their voices through campaigning.
Lactation After Loss: Choices for Bereaved Parents
E-learning course for healthcare professionals addressing how to help bereaved parents understand their lactation choices following pregnancy and loss.