Introducing Ovia Health’s New Postpartum Experience

There’s an increasing urgency to better support women during the postpartum period. The March of Dimes recently gave the United States a meager D+ for women’s and infant health, and the U.S. continues to be one of the only industrialized countries where the maternal mortality rate is increasing. 

While most postpartum care is rightly focused on the mother’s physical recovery, there’s more to postpartum care than physical recovery. The fact is that the postpartum period is a critical time to also address the mother’s mental health and any risk factors that arose during pregnancy and childbirth. With as many as one-third of women globally experiencing health problems after giving birth that can impact the lifelong quality and trajectory of her physical and mental health, it is paramount that women have the tools, digital solutions, and trusted resources that provide early and continuous support. 

Ovia Health’s new Postpartum Experience is exactly that–a comprehensive 12-month program that starts by supporting birth recovery, common postpartum conditions or complications, and providing real-time mental health support. As women progress to later postpartum stages, the Postpartum Experience progresses with them to support needs such as reproductive planning and contraception, return to work, social and financial health, and navigation to SDOH services and care where needed.

No two women’s postpartum needs are the same, and the Postpartum Experience in Ovia is designed to reflect and respond to those unique needs. One of the most exciting ways our solution innovates postpartum care is by delivering personalized postpartum insights for each member.

Each member’s recovery is personalized to delivery type and coexisting conditions, allowing them to track how they are doing each day. If a member marks a symptom that could be a potential risk based on their health history, pre-existing condition or complication, they receive a Critical Alert that explains the potential risk and the best next action: click to call their provider, and/or contact the Care Team.

Our solution also provides specific support for people who have pregnancy conditions or gestational complications that benefit from continuous management and support. For example, if a woman is diagnosed with gestational diabetes, this member’s Postpartum Experience is tailored to her health profile and educates her on the need and importance of monitoring blood sugar during her postpartum stage, the increased risk of type II diabetes, and when to take a postpartum glucose tolerance test. If she doesn’t have a physician, our Care Team can help her find one that meets her needs and preferences, or she can reach out to the Care Team to make sure she understands her specific needs. 

Our postpartum programming is personalized across a number of needs, including:

  • Anxiety, depression, and common postnatal mental health needs
  • Episiotomy support 
  • Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and cardiovascular disease
  • Gestational diabetes
  • Traumatic birth experiences
  • Birth equity programming

As women progress into later postpartum, Ovia’s Postpartum experience evolves with them. For instance, as periods begin returning, women can begin tracking their cycle and meet with our clinical Care Team consisting of clinical and mental health specialists to help them transition back to birth control if that is their plan, while providing education and guidance for future reproductive health goals.

Unlike other women’s health solutions, our Care Team members are full-time, in-house employees, many of whom have been with our members for multiple years and many family journeys.

Finally, Ovia’s Postpartum experience supports the social and emotional aspects of the postpartum period, including returning to work, social and financial health, social determinants of health and health equity, and mental health support. If members don’t have existing physical or mental health providers, we connect them to local resources and providers for a better care experience.

Combined, the Postpartum Experience provides holistic support across all aspects of each woman’s life that are affected by becoming a parent: physical recovery, mental wellbeing and identity, social support and connectedness, and economic well being. 

Key benefits include:

  • Early identification and navigation to care for potential high risk symptoms, such as, shortness of breath, leg swelling, headaches, weakness
  • Ensure that immediate risk factors, conditions, or complications that present before and/or after childbirth are appropriately evaluated, treated, and supported
  • Encourage attendance at postpartum appointments
  • Encourage mother’s return to age-appropriate screening recommendations including cervical cancer and breast cancer screenings, as well as STI testing and support

Postpartum can feel like an isolating period, but we’re here to help. Contact us to learn how we’ve partnered with employers and health plans to improve maternal physical and mental health outcomes.

Leslie Saltzman, DO is the Chief Medical Officer at Ovia Health, and the founder of the Rittenhouse Women’s Wellness Center, a groundbreaking private practice in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Saltzman received her degree in Osteopathic Medicine from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and her Master’s in Business Administration from New York University. She and her family reside in New York City.