專題討論8:婦幼醫療

S8-4
產後照護新趨勢
Modern postnatal care in Taiwan
詹德富主任
高雄醫學大學附設中和紀念醫院婦產部

  The period of time immediately following childbirth is critical for the long-term health and wellbeing for the postpartum woman and her infant. This so-called “fourth trimester” is when the woman adapts to multiple physical, social, and psychology transformations in the face of considerable challenges, such as sleep deprivation, fatigue, pain, breastfeeding frustrations, stress, and exacerbated or newly onset psychological disorders. In traditional Taiwanese families, members are numerous across generations. They provide timely and integral support for the postpartum woman, such as diet preparation, child caring or promptly detection of any abnormality in the newly mothered. However, time changes and so does family structures in society at large. It is common for couples nowadays to establish their own household away from the originated family. Thus family support is scarce, leaving the postpartum woman struggling on her own. This is when postpartum care services come into play and the reason why postpartum care centers thrive in Taiwan in recent years. Postpartum women are registered in to these specialized facilities, where comprehensive care for smooth, unpressured recovery and instructions of baby care skills are given. More importantly, the services are essential sentinels for screening women for baby blue, lactation difficulties, caregiver immunization candidates and women’s wellbeing in general. For women with higher risks, such as those with preterm birth, gestational diabetes, or hypertensive disorders, this is the ideal time for counselling and early intervention due to higher lifetime risk of cardiovascular or metabolic diseases. Taiwanese experience with postpartum care centers will be shared.