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Kristen Williams: We Need to Have an Honest Conversation About Postpartum Care

Kristen Williams/LinkedIn

Aug 12, 2026, 12:59

Kristen Williams: We Need to Have an Honest Conversation About Postpartum Care

Kristen Williams, Co-founder and CEO of Materna Healthcare, shared on LinkedIn:

“We need to have an honest conversation about postpartum care.

In the U.S., the standard postpartum visit often happens around six weeks after delivery. By then, many women have already spent more than a month recovering from childbirth, navigating feeding challenges, sleep deprivation, hormonal shifts, and caring for a newborn, often with little medical support in between.

The data tells us this isn’t enough.

1 in 8 women experience symptoms of postpartum depression. (CDC)
Anxiety is also common, yet many women are never formally screened or diagnosed. (ACOG)
More than half of women who develop postpartum depression between 9–10 months postpartum had no symptoms earlier, meaning many mothers need support well beyond the traditional six-week visit. (CDC)
Women are also recovering from major physical changes that can include hypertension, anemia, C-section or perineal wound healing, breastfeeding complications, pelvic floor dysfunction, thyroid disorders, and persistent pain – many of which can significantly affect quality of life if not recognized early. (ACOG

This isn’t about criticizing OBs.

Our obstetric colleagues are doing incredible work within a healthcare system that wasn’t designed to provide continuous postpartum support.

It’s about recognizing that motherhood doesn’t suddenly become ‘routine’ after delivery.

At Materna Healthcare, we believe postpartum care should be a continuum, not a single checkpoint.