NICE publishes updated postnatal care guideline

The updated National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline covers routine postnatal care for women and their babies in the first eight weeks after the birth. It includes the organisation and delivery of postnatal care, identifying and managing common and serious health problems in women and their babies, and baby feeding.

This guideline recommends that healthcare providers discuss contraception with women during postnatal appointments. The guideline includes the FSRH guideline on contraception after pregnancy as a resource.

FSRH hopes our members and, more broadly, commissioners, service providers and healthcare professionals find this guidance useful in informing high quality practice. We urge commissioners and service providers to work collaboratively to ensure that women can access the full range of contraception during postnatal appointments.

The provision of postnatal contraception contributes to our vision for all to receive access to high quality sexual and reproductive healthcare throughout their lives.

The NICE guideline for postnatal care is available here.